Purdue Boilermakers vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Box Score on Dec 29, 2020

Junior Montez Mathis scored a career-high 25 points as No. 14 Rutgers overcame the absence of leading scorer Ron Harper Jr. and recorded an 81-76 victory over Purdue on Tuesday night in Piscataway N.J.

The Scarlet Knights (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) rebounded from their first loss, a Dec. 23 contest in which they were dominated at Ohio State on a night when Harper sat out with an ankle injury.

Harper, who was injured in practice, was not wearing a boot as he sat on the bench Tuesday and watched Mathis eclipse his previous career best of 20 points set against Nebraska on Jan. 20, 2019. Besides Harper, the Scarlet Knights were without freshman Cliff Omoruyi, who sat out due to a knee injury.

Mathis made a career-high five 3-pointers and did not miss from behind the arc. He shot 9-for-15 from the field, and his biggest basket was a floater that banked off the rim late in the shot clock that gave Rutgers a 75-68 lead with 65 seconds remaining. It helped Rutgers secure a third straight win over a Big Ten opponent for the first time since joining the conference in 2014.

Geo Baker added a season-high 19 points for Rutgers, which shot 50 percent and hit a season-high 11 3-pointers on 21 attempts. Jacob Young contributed 13 points after warming up with a back brace after getting hurt against Ohio State.

Trevion Williams scored 15 of his 21 points after halftime as Purdue (7-4, 2-2) overcame a 15-point, first-half deficit. Williams made 10 of 12 shots and also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Sophomore Isaiah Thompson matched a career high with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting for Purdue, which hit 49.2 percent from the floor. Sasha Stefanovic added 14 points but Eric Hunter Jr. was held to nine points as the Boilermakers misfired on 19 of 26 3-point attempts.

After ending the first half with an 11-2 run to get the deficit to 40-34 by halftime, the Boilermakers took a 46-44 lead on a finger roll by Thompson with 15:25 remaining. They extended the lead to 53-48 following consecutive baskets by Williams with 10:51 left. Rutgers countered with an 18-8 spurt to take a 66-61 lead on a 3-pointer by Mathis with 6:28 left.

Purdue was within 69-68 on a 3-pointer by Hunter with 3:20 remaining but Mathis' final hoop capped a 7-0 run that secured the win.

--Field Level Media