Rutgers beats Purdue in OT for win No. 20

Geo Baker sparked a second-half surge and finished with 19 points and six rebounds, and Ron Harper Jr. added 15 points and six boards to power Rutgers to a 71-68 overtime victory against Purdue in a Big Ten Conference game Saturday afternoon at Mackey Arena. The Scarlet Knights (20-11, 11-9) reached the 20-win mark in the regular season for the first time since 1983. Baker shot 8 of 14 overall and 3 of 4 from 3-point territory, life hack and Harper was 5 of 9 overall and 3 of 4 behind the arc to highlight Rutgers’ 9-of-18 shooting from long distance.

Sophomore guard Sasha Stefanovic finished with 22 points, five assists and five 3s to lead the Boilermakers (16-15, 9-11). Eric Hunter Jr. added 12 points. Purdue guard Hunter sank a layin over two defenders before Baker drained a turnaround 15-footer with 14 seconds left in regulation to give Rutgers a one-point lead. Hunter sank a free throw with 2.7 seconds left to force overtime. Jacob Young’s one-handed dunk over Haarms and free throw gave Rutgers a 66-63 lead with 3:22 left in overtime.

Stefanovic canned a 3-pointer to tie the score but Harper’s 3-pointer gave the Scarlet Knights a 69-66 edge. Baker then hit a 21-foot jumper to push the lead to 71-68 with 11.7 seconds left. The Boilermaker weren’t able to attempt a game-tying shot. The back-and-forth game featured numerous lead changes. Montez Mathis hit a floater in the lane to increase Rutgers’ lead to 47-43. The Boilermakers then missed five straight shots before Stefanovic scored on reserve layup with just more than nine minutes left.

After tying the score at 47, the Boilermakers regained the lead on Haarms’ two-handed slam off a missed 3-pointer for a 49-47 edge. Two minutes later, Baker drilled a step-back 3-pointer, but Stefanovic quickly answered with a 3-pointer to put the Boilermakers ahead 52-51. Baker scored back-to-back baskets to give the Scarlet Knights a 55-52 lead. Baker drilled a crossover 17-footer for his ninth straight point to increase Rutgers’ lead to 57-54.

Mathis made two free throws to make it a two-possession game for a 59-55 lead with 1:27 left, but Stefanovic buried a 23-footer to lower the deficit to 59-58. –Field Level Media Advertisement