Rutgers 66, Hampton 52

Published Nov. 20, 2011 7:56 p.m. ET

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Gilvydas Biruta had 17 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and four steals to lead Rutgers to a 66-52 victory over Hampton on Sunday.

Jerome Seagears came off the bench for 10 points and three assists and Myles Mack had nine points, three assists and four steals for the Scarlet Knights (3-1). Rutgers won its second straight game in the Triple Crown Cancun Challenge.

Darrion Pellum had 21 points and Jasper Williams added 12 for Hampton (1-2), which fell to 0-6 against teams currently in the Big East.

Rutgers expanded a seven-point lead to 42-27 by starting the second half with a 12-4 run. The Pirates rallied to within 51-46 with 6:07 remaining on a 3-pointer by Williams.

After the Scarlet Knights called a timeout, Biruta hit a running hook in the lane to start an 11-0 run for a 62-46 lead with 3:03 remaining. Rutgers led for the entire contest, and had its biggest advantage at 66-49.

Rutgers won despite shooting just 31.7 percent from the field (20-for-63) and 18.8 percent from 3-point range (3-for-16). The Scarlet Knights offset their poor shooting by going 23-for-27 (85.2 percent) from the foul line.

Rutgers built a 30-23 halftime lead on the strength of 15-for-18 foul shooting. The Scarlet Knights took an 11-5 lead by going 9-for-10 from the line.

Hampton got within 11-10 and 20-18 before a 10-2 run gave the Scarlet Knights their largest lead of the half at 30-20. The teams combined for 27 turnovers in the half, with the Pirates committing 17.

Hampton finished with 26 turnovers and shot just 36.6 percent (15-for-41). Rutgers had 13, but only 10 in the second half. The Knights held a 47-33 rebounding advantage.

This was the first meeting between the two teams.