Harper, Young and Mathis lead No. 24 Rutgers past Hofstra

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Ron Harper Jr. had 15 points and nine rebounds, Jacob Young had 17 points and No. 24 Rutgers beat Hofstra 70-56 on Sunday.

Montez Mathis scored 14 points, and point guard Paul Mulcahy added nine rebounds and seven assists as the Scarlet Knights never trailed.

Rutgers (3-0) led 32-16 with 3:52 left in the first half before Hofstra (0-1) entered the break on a 5-0 run.

The Pride added two free throws by Isaac Kante after halftime before Rutgers went on a 10-0 run for a 45-32 lead — its largest of the game. The Scarlet Knights led by at least 10 the rest of the way.

Hofstra was led by Jalen Ray with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

BLOCK PARTY

Big man Myles Johnson had five blocks for Rutgers, which had seven overall.

NEXT COACH UP

Associate head coach Mike Farrelly is serving as the acting head coach for the Pride with coach Joe Mihalich on temporary medical leave.

BIG PICTURE

Hofstra: The Pride opened their season Sunday after a COVID-19 cancellation at Monmouth. After winning the Colonial Athletic Association for the first time last year, Hofstra was picked to repeat by coaches in the preseason poll. Kante was named to the preseason All-Conference First-Team, and Tareq Coburn and Ray earned honorable mention. However, the squad that went 26-8 last season has to replace its top two scorers, who graduated.

Rutgers: One week into a season where they were ranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 1978-79, the Scarlet Knights are 3-0. After playing low and mid-major teams, the first real test comes next Tuesday, when they host Syracuse.