Dylan Harper put up 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting in his college debut and No. 25 Rutgers sailed to a 75-52 win over visiting Wagner on Wednesday in Piscataway, N.J.
Harper played his first game for Rutgers without freshman classmate Ace Bailey, who suffered an injury in practice Monday and is considered day-to-day. Harper and Bailey came to Rutgers as two of the consensus top three players in the incoming class.
Harper added four assists, three rebounds and three steals, and he was supported by another freshman, Lathan Sommerville, who recorded 11 points and eight rebounds.
PJ Hayes had 12 points and Jeremiah Williams scored 10 for the Scarlet Knights (1-0), who used a 20-0 run in the first half to quickly take over.
Keyontae Lewis led Wagner (0-1) with 12 points and RJ Greene had eight points and seven boards.
Harper made his first two shots, a 3-pointer and a high-rising layup off a baseline out-of-bounds play. But the rest of the Scarlet Knights needed some time to get warmed up as Wagner took a 10-5 advantage.
Sommerville then scored seven straight points, including an open 3 that bounced in off the rim, to kickstart Rutgers’ 20-0 run. Princeton transfer Zach Martini drained a triple for his first points of the season, and Harper capped the run with a steal and score that made it 25-10 with 3:35 to go.
Wagner was held scoreless for 10:57 of game time, missing 17 straight shots in that span. Rutgers led by as many as 19 points before taking a 36-19 advantage into halftime.
Harper dominated one stretch of the second half as Rutgers built its first 20-point advantage.
After converting a layup in transition, Harper fed Hayes and Sommerville for buckets to make it 50-30 with 12:04 to play. Harper’s first dunk of the season, on another fast break, thrilled the crowd and capped the outburst.
The Seahawks scored five straight points, but Hayes’ 3-pointer made it 55-35 with 10:07 to go, and Wagner never threatened from then on.
Rutgers outshot Wagner 50.9 percent (28-of-55) to 34.9 percent (22-of-63). The Scarlet Knights scored 26 of their points on the fast break.