Dane Miller scored 18 points and Rutgers eventually pulled away for a 68-56 win over Rider Friday.
Rutgers (9-2), which has won nine of its last 10, finished 3-0 under associate head coach David Cox. Cox filled in for Mike Rice after Rice was suspended without pay for a violation of athletic department policy.
Rice will resume his duties and return to practice Saturday.
Eli Carter scored all 15 of his points in the second half for Rutgers, which improved to 15-1 against its in-state rival. Kadeem Jack had 12 points while Wally Judge added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Scarlet Knights.
Rider (6-7) got 20 points from Daniel Stewart and 14 from Anthony Myles. The Broncs dropped to 0-5 in games when they have not scored at least 60 points.
Holding a 52-49 lead, Rutgers scored eight straight to take control with 2:42 left.
Carter started the run with a driving layup and two foul shots after a technical was called on Rider coach Kevin Baggett. Jerome Seagears followed with a baseline drive and Miller's bucket capped the run and put Rutgers up 60-49.
Neither team found an offensive rhythm in the first half, in which the biggest lead by either side was four points. There were five lead changes, the last coming amid a 5-0 run that gave Rutgers a 24-21 halftime lead.
Myles Mack and Carter, Rutgers' leading scorers who averaged a combined 33 points entering the game, had one point between them. Rider, which was held to a season-low 21 points in the first half for the third time, shot 26.1 percent (6 of 23).
Rider, which finished at 30.4 percent overall (14 of 46), kept it close for most of the second half but could never tie it. The Broncs pulled within 34-33 and 36-35 and kept Rutgers' lead within single digits until its late run.
