Eli Carter scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Rutgers defeated Cincinnati 61-54 to give coach Mike Rice his 100th win on Saturday night.
Dane Miller had 10 points and 12 rebounds and Myles Mack scored 10 for the Scarlet Knights (12-10, 4-5 Big East), who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Dion Dixon scored 17 and Yancy Gates had 16 for the Bearcats (15-7, 5-4), who are on a three-game losing streak for the first time since 2009-10. Sean Kilpatrick added 11 points for the Bearcats.
Trailing 30-27 early in the second half, Rutgers used a 17-5 run to take a 44-35 lead that it would not relinquish. Carter and Mack combined for 13 points in the run with Carter hitting two 3-pointers during that time.
Carter made all four of his 3-point attempts following halftime after going 0 for 3 in the first half.
Rutgers built its biggest lead at 52-42 on Carter's final 3-pointer before Cincinnati battled within 56-52 with 1:39 left. After a timeout, Carter drove the baseline and fed Miller for a slam to start Rutgers on a game-ending 5-0 run.
The Bearcats missed their final five shots after getting to within four. Austin Johnson hit two foul shots with 24.3 seconds remaining to clinch the game for Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights forced 14 turnovers and held the Bearcats to 35.7 percent shooting (20 for 56). Cincinnati suffered its second road loss in a row after winning seven straight league road games
Rice improved his career record to 100-58. He went 73-31 in three years at Robert Morris and is now 27-27 overall in his second season with Rutgers.
