Northwestern Wildcats vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Match Player Stats On Feb 09, 2020

Geo Baker scored a game-high 25 points Sunday night, including the clinching jumper with 13.0 seconds left in overtime, as Rutgers rallied from an 18-point first half deficit to stop Northwestern 77-73 in a Big Ten Conference game at Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J.

The Scarlet Knights (17-7, 8-5) never led until Ron Harper Jr. canned a foul shot 20 seconds into overtime. Baker did most of the heavy lifting in the extra session with seven points. He scored 23 after halftime.

Akwasi Yeboah added 13 for Rutgers, which improved to 16-0 at home and won its eighth conference game for the first time since joining the conference six seasons ago. Harper finished with 10.

Boo Buie scored 19 points to pace the Wildcats (6-16, 1-11), while Miller Kopp added 16 and Jared Jones came off the bench to net 11 points. It wasn't enough to keep Northwestern from losing a 62-48 lead with 7:47 remaining.

Rutgers sent the game into overtime when Baker canned a stepback 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:10 left in regulation for a 66-66 tie. Northwestern could have won as time expired, but Buie airballed a runner from the right wing.

With a loud sellout crowd arrayed against it, Northwestern played textbook road basketball throughout the first half. It went on a big early run to take command of the game and then kept the crowd silent by answering little spurts.

The Wildcats scored on their first six possessions, opening up a 15-5 lead at the 15:45 mark when Kopp converted a pullup jumper in the paint. The margin kept growing, eventually reaching 29-11 as Kopp canned a 3-pointer with 8:13 left, forcing Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell to burn a 30-second timeout.

The Scarlet Knights finally found traction over the half's final eight minutes, although they couldn't reduce the lead under 10 points. But Baker pulled them within 38-27 at intermission after sinking a stepback jumper in the lane with seven seconds remaining.

--Field Level Media