Dylan Harper & Ace Bailey's FULL Rutgers Debut! | 45 POINTS COMBINED

The Scarlet Knights have one of the best players in the Big Ten in Bailey, who electrified the crowd with tough shot-making and high-flying dunks. He finished with a team-high 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting (44.4%), overcoming some ill-advised attempts with some stunning moments.
His fellow five-star freshman Dylan Harper, who finished with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting (50%), looked pretty good himself. The Don Bosco Prep product opened the game with a tough finish on a lay-up, hit some impressive jumpers and knocked down a couple of threes.
Together, they combined to score 45 points on 16-of-34 shooting (47.1%), grab nine rebounds and dish two assists. But in the end, neither could make the key play in the final minute, when the Johnnies held a one-score lead. Harper and Merrimack transfer Jordan Derkack committed back-to-back turnovers that resulted in three made free throws for the Red Storm, putting the visitors in front for good.
St. John’s ended the game on a 21-6 run, taking advantage of the Scarlet Knights’ major weakness.
The biggest question mark on the roster did not get many answers on Thursday, with the Scarlet Knights’ centers struggling mightily. Whether it was starter Emmanuel Ogbole or backup Zach Martini, neither could hold up against St. John’s star Zuby Ejiofor. The Johnnies scored 46 points in the paint, rebounded 21 of its 37 misses (56.8%) and scored 25 second-chance points.
Rutgers fell into an early hole, trailing 17-8 after missing 11 of its first 15 shots in the opening eight minutes of the contest. The Scarlet Knights then took control midway through the first half with a 22-0 run in which it dominated on both sides of the floor.
They held the Red Storm scoreless for six minutes and 21 seconds, forcing five turnovers and six consecutive missed shots in that span. On the other end, they hit six consecutive shots, starting with a dunk from Bailey off a feed from Harper, continuing with three consecutive threes from Bailey, Harper and San Diego transfer PJ Hayes and ending with a circus midrange shot from Bailey.
Rutgers led for 19 consecutive minutes, its advantage fluctuating between 13 and 4 points in that span. The Red Storm stormed back to tie the game at 70 with a little over eight minutes to play in the second half, using a 13-1 run to erase the deficit. Rutgers responded with a 9-0 run to give itself some breathing room, only for St. John’s to punch back with a 16-4 run of its own to retake the lead and held it for good.