PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Jonathan Mitchell scored 16 points and sparked the game's decisive run as Rutgers defeated Marist 64-48 on Tuesday night.
Rutgers freshman Gilvydas Biruta had 15 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double, while Mike Coburn added 14 points and Dane Miller 12 for the Scarlet Knights (5-2), who improved to 5-0 at home for the first time since 2007.
Marist (2-7), which had won two straight, got 15 from Menelik Watson and 11 from Sam Prescott.
After letting a nine-point first-half lead slip, Rutgers trailed 33-25 early in the second half before scoring 11 straight to take the lead for good.
Mitchell hit two 3-pointers and converted a three-point play during a 15-2 run, giving the Knights a 53-39 lead with 7:25 remaining.
Marist, which committed 21 turnovers and shot 27 percent (13 for 47), got no closer than nine. Rutgers took its largest lead at 64-46.
With a chance to bury Marist early, Rutgers failed to take advantage of some poor shooting by the Red Foxes. Marist made just two of its first 13 shots and committed nine turnovers in the game's first minutes, but the Scarlet Knights could only take a 16-7 lead.
From that point the Red Foxes made six of their final nine shots in the half while Rutgers went just 2 for 15, allowing Marist to take a 27-21 halftime lead.
Rutgers went a stretch of 5:37 without a field goal and the Red Foxes scored the final seven points of the half to erase a 21-20 deficit.
Marist held its advantage despite shooting 8 for 22 (36.4 percent) with 12 turnovers in the half. The Knights were even colder, shooting 9 or 1 (29 percent) after hitting four of their first seven.
