Echenique Powers Rutgers to 58-56 Win Over Drexel

box score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) received the ball at the left elbow with 1.9 seconds remaining on a side-out-of-bounds play, drove the lane and deposited it in the hoop with his left hand as time expired to lift Rutgers (2-0) to a 58-56 victory over Drexel (0-3) Friday evening at the RAC. The thrilling finish capped a monster evening for the sophomore center, who scored 16 points on seven-of-11 shooting, grabbed 14 rebounds and issued two blocks in 27 minutes of action.

“I think Gregory can do that against anybody,” said head coach Fred Hill. “He just needs to decide to do that every night. I am really proud of the way he responded tonight. He has the rare combination of great forward quickness in the post and size and strength. I hope he understands how much confidence we have in him by going to him at the end of the game (with 1.9) to go.”

The performance marked the seventh career double-double for Echenique and the first time he accomplished the feat in back-to-back games. He had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the season-opener versus Marist.

Sophomore guard Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) and junior point Mike Coburn (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) also registered double digits for the Scarlet Knights. Rosario scored 13 points, while Coburn added 11. Defensively, Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) once again made his presence felt, as the senior center issued six blocked shots in 13 minutes of action.

The contest featured four lead changes and five ties. Rutgers largest advantage of the opening half was seven points (21-14) with 6:08 remaining before the break. The Scarlet Knights entered the locker room at the midpoint with slim, 29-28, edge.

After intermission, Drexel took a pair of one-point advantages before the initial media timeout. The home squad responded, however, recapturing the lead and increasing its advantage to seven points (45-38) once again. Rutgers managed to maintain its lead until a Drexel layup with just 0:12 seconds on the clock tied the score at 56-56 and set up the memorable finale.

The Rutgers defense limited Drexel to just 26.6 percent (17-64) shooting, including a paltry 16.7 percent (3-18) from behind the arc. The Scarlet Knights made 45.5 percent (20-44) of their field goal attempts and 28.6 percent (2-7) from long range.

Rutgers returns to the hardwood this Sunday (Nov. 22) for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off versus Vermont at the RAC.