Dylan Harper reacts to his game winner vs Seton Hall, says he didn't want to repeat his mistake from before
Dylan Harper created a great moment in the early days of his collegiate career on Saturday. Knocking down a game-winner to have the Rutgers Scarlet Knights beat the Seton Hall Pirates, 66-63, he reflected on the final play down the stretch.
The Scarlet Knights initially had a four-point lead in the last minute of the game after an inside jumper from Harper. However, the Pirates fought back to tie the game at 63 apiece thanks to points scored by Isaiah Coleman.
With just 6.4 seconds remaining, Harper did the unlikely. He received the ball off the inbounds, brought it up the floor to take a 3-pointer that ended up going through the hoop as Rutgers won 66-63.
Harper looked back on the moment after the game, saying that he wanted to fix the errors he made in the exhibition against St. John's, where he was in similar situations but didn't respond in the same way as he did against Seton Hall. He finished with 24 points, two rebounds and two assists on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from three.
"I was trying to win. I mean, the main thing that was going through my head was that exhibition came against St. John's. I turned the ball over all game. So, I mean, I say, I ain't want that to happen again. I just want to get the win. That's what we did," Dylan Harper said at the 2:30 mark.
Dylan Harper's coach reflected on team's win over Seton Hall
The win brought a wave of optimism to not only Dylan Harper and the Scarlet Knights but also their head coach, Steve Pikiell.
"It's always a great game. Seton Hall's tough as nails. I think Shaw is one of the best coaches in the country. I think he does a fantastic job. Obviously, our crowd was awesome. The whole time, they've been great. Didn't play our best game, we've missed 15 free throws, had 15 turnovers, and we still figured out a way to win. So proud of our guys," Pikiell said.
The victory improved Rutgers' record to 7-4 on the season. They put up 78.5 points per game on 46.2% shooting from the field and 33.9% from beyond the arc. Harper leads the way with 23.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists on 52% shooting overall and 36.4% from downtown, while Ace Bailey follows suit with 17.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.
With the win over Seton Hall secured, Dylan Harper and Rutgers will play the Princeton Tigers at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Dec. 21 at noon ET.