Ace Bailey's 23 points leads No. 24 Rutgers over Merrimack 74-63
Rutgers' Ace Bailey, center, drives past Merrimack's Armandas Plintauskas (41) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers defeated Merrimack 74-63. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Freshman Ace Bailey scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead No. 24 Rutgers to a 74-63 win over Merrimack on Wednesday night.
It was the second straight wire-to-wire win for Rutgers (4-0). The Scarlet Knights beat Monmouth 98-81 on Friday.
Freshman Dylan Harper added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Rutgers.
Adam Clark led Merrimack (1-3) with 22 points and six assists, and Sean Trumper added 10 points.
Rutgers was 7 of 17 from beyond the arc (41%). Merrimack was just 4 of 24 from 3-point range (17%).
Merrimack got to within 65-58 with 2:53 to go, before Rutgers went on a 7-0 run.
Takeaways
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights have breezed through their first four home games, now they hit the road for their biggest test. After traveling to Georgia with a meeting against Kennesaw State, Rutgers goes to Las Vegas to play Notre Dame and No. 8 Alabama in the Players Era Festival Nov. 26-27.
Rutgers' Ace Bailey, right, shoots over Merrimack's Sean Trumper during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers defeated Merrimack 74-63. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
Merrimack: Clark is a premier scorer for the Warriors. He's averaging 21 points a game, but Merrimack will need to come up with secondary scoring in its first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after leaving the Northeast Conference.
Key moment
Bailey's turnaround jumper provided the Scarlet Knights with a 57-44 cushion, their largest lead to that point, with 8:32 left to play.
Key stat
Rutgers enjoyed a huge disparity at the free throw line, going 17 of 23, while Merrimack was 7 of 7.
Up next
Merrimack is at Butler on Friday. Rutgers is at Kennesaw State on Sunday.