Local Teams

Jacob Young scored 15 points, Ron Harper Jr. added 14 and No. 25 Rutgers clamped down defensively in a 64-50 victory over skidding Northwestern on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.

The Scarlet Knights (12-7, 8-7 Big Ten) won for the fifth time in six games and beat Northwestern for the second time in that stretch. They bounced back from a 13-point loss at No. 15 Iowa by rallying from an early 10-point deficit and allowing their second-fewest points this season.

Young shot 6 of 16 from the floor while Harper finished at 5 of 12 as the Scarlet Knights shot 51.3 percent (19 of 37) inside the 3-point arc and 41.1 percent overall.

Myles Johnson posted his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds and helped Rutgers to a 30-22 margin in the paint. Caleb McConnell added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Scarlet Knights.

Northwestern (6-12, 3-11) lost its 11th straight and scored its fewest points of the season, three days after a double-overtime loss at Indiana.

Anthony Gaines and Chase Audige led the Wildcats with 11 points apiece but were a combined 8 of 21 from the floor as Northwestern shot 32.7 percent. The rest of Northwestern's starters (Miller Kopp, Ryan Young and Pete Nance) combined for 23 points on 8 of 28 shooting.

Northwestern sped out to a 14-4 lead on a jumper by Nance, but Rutgers used a 14-2 run to take its first lead on a basket by Young nearly nine minutes later. Rutgers scored the final 10 points of the half and held a 37-27 lead at intermission after Johnson converted a three-point play with 43 seconds remaining.

Northwestern went nearly nine minutes without a field goal until a basket by Young with about 14 1/2 minutes remaining. It got within 41-38 on a layup by Nance with 13:04 left.

Geo Baker ended an eight-minute scoring drought for Rutgers with a short jumper at the 10:49 mark that made it 43-38, and a little over two minutes later, McConnell's 3-pointer extended the lead to 48-40.

The lead stretched to 54-42 on a 3-pointer by Baker with 5:31 left, and following a basket by Audige that cut it to 56-49, Young sealed it on a dunk at the 2:38 mark after intercepting an Audige pass.

--Field Level Media