Rutgers basketball crushes Seton Hall as Powell leaves with head injury

Jerry Carino | Asbury Park Press

PISCATAWAY — Forget about the fights, crazy comebacks and 25-foot buzzer-beaters.

In the unpredictable and sometimes insane history of the Rutgers-Seton Hall basketball series, there’s never been a stunner quite like the opening stretch of Saturday’s 71st meeting.

With a frenzied, deafening crowd of 8,329 at their backs, the Scarlet Knights rolled out to a 14-0 lead over the first six minutes and never looked back, embarrassing their shorthanded in-state rival 68-48 in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.

“A the end of the day, it's a statement," Rutgers captain Geo Baker said. "This is for Jersey. The younger guys are starting to see how important this game is, not only to us but to the fans."

EDELSON COLUMN: It was an atmosphere for the ages

A long day for the 22nd-ranked Pirates got even worse with the news that preseason All-American Myles Powell suffered what Hall coach Kevin Willard termed "a pretty bad concussion" after hitting his head twice early in the first half.

"He took a charge (at the 17:36 mark, with Rutgers leading 7-0) and whacked his head on the floor," Willard said. "Then him and Tyrese (freshman forward Tyrese Samuel) ran into each other (a few moments later, with Rutgers up 9-0)."

Powell, who came in averaging 23 points, finished with six points on 3-of-9 shooting over 15 minutes. He likely played 11-plus minutes with a concussion and in retrospect his play reflected that; he badly bricked two missed free throws, an extreme rarity.

"He asked me during the game, 'Why are we practicing at Rutgers?'" Willard said. "I kind of looked at him, because I was wondering what the heck he was doing out there. We sat down during the (under-4) timeout and his eyes kind of rolled into the back of his head. It hit him like a wave. He got whacked pretty good."

For Rutgers (8-3), it marked the largest margin of victory this rivalry since the Scarlet Knights posted an 81-49 rout here in 1998. It's also the program's largest margin of victory ever against a ranked foe.

"Our guys were driven, they were determined," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. "We’re a good basketball program. I think you saw (that) today."

Sophomore wing Ron Harper Jr. paced the Scarlet Knights with 18 points and six rebounds, earning Joe Calabrese MVP honors.

"Being a kid growing up in Jersey, going to Big East games of Rutgers and Seton Hall, this the stuff you dream of right here," said Harper, who watched Rutgers upset Seton Hall here as a recruit from Don Bosco Prep two years ago. "I would have given a kidney to be out there two years ago. Today I got a taste of what it’s like. The RAC was crazy and you just appreciate that so much."

Seton Hall (7-4) came into the contest without injured power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili and got steamrolled from the start. After two alley-oop dunks by Harper Jr. and a step-back 3-pointer by junior guard Geo Baker staked Rutgers to a quick lead, the Scarlet Knights' defense took over. With Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell extending ball pressure nearly to the 3-point line and sending four different defenders at Powell, his guys forced the Hall into a series of low-percentage hoists.

"We were really connected to each other defensively," Rutgers forward Akwasi Yeboah said. "That was the difference in the game."

The margin was 26-5 just 12 minutes into the game and the RAC was a party for the next 90 minutes. When the final buzzer sounded students stormed the court, just as they did when the host rallied past the Hall here two years ago.

"For our team, for jersey, for the bragging rights, this is a big win," said Rutgers center Myles Johnson, who tallied eight points and 13 rebounds and held the Boardwalk Trophy aloft as he was engulfed by court-rushing students. "When I held the trophy, it felt like the Lion King when he holds up Simba. It was crazy."

Seton Hall now leads the series 40-31, with the teams splitting the past four game — each winning at home.

1. Ron Harper has arrived

The game's two biggest plays were Harper's alley-oops. One came from Baker. On the other, Harper soared what seemed like 20 feet in the air to corral a pass from Johnson and throw it down.

"Myles owed me one," Harper said. "First game of the season he threw it into the student section. It was the same play."

Harper was the best athlete on the floor and it showed. On defense he picked up Powell at times and was able to stay in front of the crafty guard — a very rare feat for a guy who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 245 pounds.

“He was just a monster today," Baker said. "That's what we need. Today was Ron’s day and the best part about it was everybody enjoyed it, everybody let it be his day and that's what is special about this team."

This is the player who dominated throughout Rutgers’ preseason practices, getting to the rim at will and keeping defenders honest with a mid-range jumper. Sophomores are going to be up and down, but if this version of Harper is here to stay, look out.

"We're growing," Harper said. "Day by day, we're growing. We have a lot of room to grow still and the sky's the limit with this team, so I can't wait for the rest of the season."

2. The tougher team won

Rutgers dominated the hustle stats, posting a 46-29 edge on the glass, outscoring the Hall 12-2 in second-chance points and grabbing the majority of loose balls.

There was one telling instance when Rutgers freshman Paul Mulcahy manhandled Hall junior Myles Cale out of the way for a rebound as both players jostled under the basket.

“We wanted it more," said Rutgers sophomore Caleb McConnell, who scored nine points. "All we talked about this last week is what they did to us last year, last year, last year (a six-point Hall win in Newark). Today we wanted to make a statement and show today that we’re the better team in New Jersey.”

Seton Hall guard Quincy McKnight (11 points) credited the crowd and Rutgers' effort.

“It was just tough, with this atmosphere," McKnight said. "They came out here, threw the first punch and just had us on our heels the whole game.”

3. Rough game for Willard

Starting Ike Obiagu, who has clearly been outplayed at center by Romaro Gill this season, was a significant and costly mistake. On both alley-oops early on, Obiagu got sucked out to the perimeter, leaving the backdoor open for Harper.

After the second dunk Willard immediately subbed in Gill, who has a better basketball IQ, and the alley-oops stopped. But the damage was done. Rutgers was up 9-0 and sledding downhill with the crowd engaged.

"I'm trying to get Ike going, to be honest," Willard said. "Ro is going to being the same energy no matter what. When you're a big guy who sat out a whole year, coming off the bench is a little bit tougher."

Willard, who is now 7-7 against Rutgers and 4-3 at the RAC, took the blame for his team's flat start.

"I didn't do a very good job of getting these guys ready for this atmosphere," he said. "The only ones who have really played in this atmosphere before were Myles Powell and Myles Cale. We talked about it with them a little bit, but I didn't want to get them thinking about it, but I didn't do a good enough job to get them to understand what this game and atmosphere is like. I've been here now 13 times and I should have done a better job."

McKnight put it this way: "A lot of the guys on this team, I don’t want to say they don’t realize what this is, but they don’t understand how much juice is really behind this game, and they came out with a stronger punch than we did.”

4. What this means for Seton Hall

The first order of business is Powell's health. Willard declined to say if Powell is being hospitalized.

"Luckily he is starting to come through it just a little bit right now," the coach said. "We'll watch it overnight, put him in the concussion protocol. With a concussion you just really have to be careful."

Willard might have lost some injury-status credibility after overstating the extent of Powell's ankle injury last month, but by all accounts Powell's head injury is serious.

McKnight and multiple Rutgers players said they saw Powell holding his head early in the first half.

“He was out of it a little bit (at halftime)," McKnight said. "He didn’t know where we were.”

Baker confirmed that during the game Seton Hall player were talking about how Powell didn't seem to have his bearings

"You hate to see that," said Baker, who has become friends with Powell. "I wish him really well."

Beyond Powell, it was clear from a mid-week visit to practice that Seton Hall was still down and saddened from losing Mamukelashvili, a popular teammate and the team’s top frontcourt presence. If the Pirates take a home loss Thursday to fifth-ranked Maryland, their non-conference resume will be in tatters.

The truth is that a season with sky-high expectations has come up snake eyes so far. Without their top two players, the Pirates are losing at Rutgers 10 out of 10 times. It's doubtful any other team in the country has suffered worse injury misfortune to date.

5. What this means for Rutgers

It's a sign that Pikiell does, in fact, have the talent in this program to make the postseason. The Scarlet Knights needed to win one of two games in this week’s homestand. They got both, and for a young group that should be a huge confidence builder.

"We're tough and resilient," Baker said. "We had two tough losses on the road and we bounced back. A lot of the guys were hyped about (Wednesday's) Wisconsin win, and in the past we would have come out here sloppy after a game like that. That shows we have some maturity. We've got to keep that up."

Baker is the longest-tenured Scarlet Knight and the player closest to Pikiell. He sees this win as a big step in the grand plan.

"He showed me a vision, and all the guys are starting to see the same thing I saw," Baker said. "It's starting to come together and I think it can be really special."

Bonus takeaway: Great gesture

The latest installment of this rancorous rivalry started off on a note of great camaraderie.

Seton Hall came out for warmups wearing “Roll Model” T-shirts in honor of Eric LeGrand, the paralyzed former Rutgers football player who has become the face of the spinal-cord research movement.

The classy gesture was the brainchild of Hall graduate assistant Brandon Hall, who has been friends with LeGrand since childhood. Both graduated from Colonia High School in 2008 — LeGrand starring in football, Hall in hoops.

“He’s my best friend; we talk every day,” Hall said. “He reached out to me and asked if I could get a picture of the team wearing the shirts at practice. I saw what Minnesota (football) did or him and I wanted to take it to the next level.”

The Gophers did something similar when they visited Rutgers on the gridiron in October.

“Eric came up and talked to (Seton Hall’s players) last year,” Hall said. “He was great. They loved it. Myles (Powell) tells me all the time, ‘Tell Eric thank you for being so inspirational.”

LeGrand, who sits courtside at the baseline near the visitor’s bench for most big home games, was not expecting Seton Hall’s players to be wearing the shirts at the RAC (Rutgers’ players wore a white version of the same shirt during warmups).

“It’s going to be awesome,” said Hall, who left a job as Colonia High School’s varsity boys basketball coach to join the Pirates’ staff. “Going back to Rutgers, the main thing is to get the W, but just to see the look on his face, I know he’ll be excited. He’s been so supportive of me and of all these guys.”

Hall approached Willard with the idea last week.

“He didn’t even let me finish the sentence,” Hall said. “He heard ‘Eric’ and he was all about it.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.