Roy Harper Jr. scores 23, Rutgers holds off Clemson, 74-64

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Ron Harper Jr. throws down ferocious jam for Rutgers

Rutgers' Ron Harper Jr. gets the ball down low and flushes an and-1 dunk through contact.

Dec 1, 2021, 04:44 am

PESCATAWAY, N.J. -- — Ron Harper Jr. scored 23 points and snared nine rebounds as Rutgers held off Clemson, 74-64 in a Big Ten/ACC Challenge game on Tuesday night.

The Scarlet Knights held an eight-point advantage at the break, 33-25, and Harper turned in a three-point play in the first minute of the second half to push the lead to 11, but Clemson battled back to get within a point, 45-44 with 12:25 left. Harper answered with a pair of 3s to fuel an 8-2 burst.

Clemson cut the deficit to four points on David Collins' layup with 3:26 left, but Cliff Omoruyi answered with a layup and a dunk and Caleb McConnell added two free throws to push the Rutgers lead back to 10 points with just over two minutes to play.

McConnell finished with 16 points for Rutgers (4-3) and Omoruyi and reserve Aundre Hyatt each added 11.

Collins finished with 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Clemson (5-3). PJ Hall and Hunter Tyson each added 10 points.

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