By John "Woods" Armwood III
Sunday evening, the Scarlet Knights (7-4) defeated Wagner (2-7) at home, 86-48. Outside of winning, one of the biggest takeaways from the game was the overall dominance of this young team. This Scarlet Knights team is led by veteran forward Destiny Adams and star freshman guard Kiyomi McMiller led the way in the dominant performance. Both recorded double-doubles, McMiller the walking highlight reel added 24 points and 10 rebounds while Adams recorded 17 points and 13 rebounds.
“It makes me feel really good because it’s something we talk about a lot,” Rutgers head coach Conquese Washington stated. “The strength of our team and how we have a lot of weapons and folks that can contribute. At this point of the season, to see us come out and display that makes me feel really proud of the team and I’m confident about what we can do moving forward.”
JoJo Lacey (11 points) and Mya Petticord (10 points) also struck double-digits partnered with seven rebounds as well. The Scarlet Knights portrayed poetry in motion, the flow of the game, and the chemistry continues to build for this young team. The bench chipped in with transfer Janae Walker contributing six points and the most exciting contributors came from both walk-ons Kennedy Brandt and Deja Young. The team was truly happy for Young and Brandt to get in the scoring column as they exploded once the ball went into the net in support of these two.
Breakdown of the Game
Early in the game, the onslaught began as Adams became aggressive and started to control the free throw line. This eventually, leads to the momentum that seemed to never end throughout the game. Not to mention, Wagner was held scoreless for the first three minutes of the game, but then both teams traded baskets until late in the first quarter. Both teams stayed scoreless to start the second quarter until Lacey's layup with just over eight minutes to go gave RU a double-digit lead.
“The entire game was just fun, and we were playing for each other,”Adams stated. “We were moving the ball extremely well, when [Deja] Young and Kennedy [Brandt] both got shots it was just super excited. They deserve it, and it showed that.”
Rutgers caught fire after the break going on a 12-2 run to end the quarter and headed into the locker room with the 45-21 advantage. Out of the locker room, Wagner scored first, but it was all Scarlet Knights after that. Adams and McMiller both went on respective 5-0 runs, to force the Seahawks to call a timeout with 5:21 remaining and RU in control, 55-25.
Looking Ahead
Rutgers will play one more game before the holiday break, facing off against Lafayette on Dec. 21 at noon for the Holiday Hoops game. The team will finish out its homestand after a week off versus No. 11/8 Ohio State (Dec. 29).