The Rutgers Scarlet Knights went scoreless over a 4:38 stretch in the last six minutes of Monday night's game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but managed to hang on for the 65-58 victory in Big East Conference play. Luckily for Rutgers, Notre Dame also shot poorly in the second half, putting both teams at 11-8 on the season and 3-3 in the Big East.
Freshman Eli Carter shot just 1-for-6 from the field in the second half, giving him just 13 points for the game after scoring 10 in the first half. Notre Dame's top scorer Eric Atkins led all players with 15 points, but went just 4-for-14 to get there. Both teams had a roughly even number of possessions, but the Scarlet Knights were more efficient from behind the arc (7-for-15 compared to 7-for-20 for the Irish) and much better from the free throw line (10-for-14 vs. 5-for-13).
Notre Dame pulled within two points of Rutgers early in the second half, threatening to seize momentum after a Jerian Grant 3-pointer made the score 41-39. The Irish promptly went on a 4:05 scoring drought of their own, however, and would not pull closer than four points for the remainder of the game.
For more on the Scarlet Knights, check out the SB Nation blog On The Banks. For more on the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. Stay tuned to our updated StoryStream for more on tonight's game and beyond.