Harper does Harper things: Dylan Harper sinks buzzer-beater to take down Seton Hall

Just 6 seconds remained in the Garden State Hardwood Classic. Seton Hall had just tied things up with the Rutgers men's basketball team at 63-63. The Scarlet Knights (7-4, 1-1) used their final timeout before the last possession of regulation.

“It’s the rivalry game … they always come down to this," said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell postgame.

Pikiell elected to get the ball into freshman phenom guard Dylan Harper's hands, needing to travel the full length of the court to make anything happen.

“I passed the ball into (Harper)," said junior guard Jordan Derkack. "I told him to hurry up. He just told me to relax. He knew what he needed to do."

Harper raced down the floor, made a quick in-and-out dribble move, and then pulled up for the win from the Jersey Mike's logo. He nailed it. The Knights won.

“I don’t know what was going through my head. I was just trying to win," Harper said. "The main thing that was going through my head was that exhibition game against St. John’s, I turned the ball over for game and definitely did not want to do that again."

It's safe to say the young star redeemed himself when it really mattered this time around.

"My thought process was get the best shot possible," Harper said. "It was the only spot on the court open. So, I got there and shot the ball. I worked on this a lot — constant reps in practice. So, I was very confident in this shot.”

The buzzer-beater was the first for Rutgers in 1,100 days. That last buzzer-beater? Dylan's older brother Ron's against No. 1 Purdue. Dylan gave the edge postgame to Ron in terms of who had a better shot but thinks with the fact that his came in a bitter rivalry game, it may have meant more.

Harper finished with 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting today against the Pirates (5-6, 0-0). His partner in crime, freshman forward Ace Bailey, had perhaps his best game as a Knight with 21 points and seven rebounds on 9 for 15 shooting. It was a tale of two halves, as Bailey scored 15 of his 21 in the first half, helping keep Rutgers afloat, while Harper tallied 18 of his 24 in the second half, helping the Knights deliver the final blow.

Rutgers did not play its best game but did just enough to squeak out the win. What kept the Knights close, in more ways than one, was their free throw shooting. Rutgers lopsidedly attempted 28 free throws to Seton Hall's 13, giving the former an offensive edge and helping stay within striking distance all game long. But the Knights made just 13 of those free throws, halting them from ever putting the Pirates away.

“Just one of those days free throws weren’t falling," Bailey said, who was just 1 for 8 from the charity stripe. "It was all of us, we all gotta work on that.”

For Rutgers, the win marks the second in a row on the season and the second in a row in the rivalry against Seton Hall.

In what was likely their only time playing in the Garden State Hardwood Classic, Bailey and Harper felt the significance of the game.

“This (rivalry) is deep," Bailey said. "It was so loud … I felt amazing to play in front of that.”

As for Harper, he's been around this rivalry all his life and felt the emotions of hoisting the New Jersey-shaped trophy after the win and effectively painting New Jersey scarlet.

“It means a lot holding that trophy up. I think I represent Jersey everywhere I go," Harper said. “I want people to be like, ‘That’s the kid from New Jersey that made the change, made the difference at Rutgers.’”

Make a difference he did, and make a difference he will continue to do.

The Knights now get a week off before returning to action against another in-state foe, Princeton. While it wasn't Rutgers' cleanest game, the Knights will hold their heads high heading into this next week of practice coming off of consecutive must-have wins against Penn State and, now, the Pirates.

"We did not play our best game. We missed 15 free throws and had 15 turnovers," Pikiell said. "We still figured out a way to win so I am proud of our guys."