Ace Bailey scored 24 points, fellow freshman Dylan Harper recorded the first triple-double for Rutgers since 1983 and the Scarlet Knights beat Columbia 91-64 on Monday night.
Harper grabbed his 10th rebound with 5:05 remaining in the second half, and he found Bailey for a layup at the other end for his 10th assist to secure the program’s first triple-double since star center Roy Hinson had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against Rhode Island on March 2, 1983.
Harper finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists for Rutgers (8-5), which was coming off an 83-82 loss to Princeton. Harper also made 4 of 7 3-pointers. Jamichael Davis and Lathan Sommerville each scored 11.
Bailey scored 13 points in the opening 12 minutes to help Rutgers build a 27-18 lead. The Scarlet Knights led 44-35 at the break and later took their largest lead of the game in the closing seconds when freshman Peter Noble made a long 3-pointer on his first shot attempt of the season.
Rutgers’ Ace Bailey drops 24 points alongside Dylan Harper’s triple-double in win vs. Columbia
Columbia’s first offensive rebound of the game led to a 3-pointer by Kenny Noland to get within 54-46 with 14:07 remaining. But Harper scored the next four points to begin a 10-2 run that he capped with a 3-pointer to make it 64-48. Rutgers led by double digits the rest of the way.
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa scored 17 points for Columbia (11-2). Noland had 16 points and four 3-pointers.
Rutgers, which concluded the nonconference portion of its schedule, returns to Big Ten play against Indiana on Thursday. Columbia hosts Cornell on Jan. 11 in an Ivy League opener for both teams.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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