Win over Pirates a shot in the arm for Rutgers Scarlet Knights finally play well down the stretch BY MIKE McDONALD Correspondent The Rutgers University mens basketball team (9-12) got its most exciting win of this season Saturday when it defeated Seton Hall (11-9), 74-70, in double-overtime. There were just under 8,000 fans in attendance at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, and the season-high crowd witnessed a much-needed win for Rutgers. Senior forward Adrian Hill led Rutgers with 18 points and 19 rebounds, while sophomore J.R. Inman scored 14 points. Clearly Rutgers head coach Fred Hill was happy with his team's play during crucial points in the game. "Well, I told the guys at the game, you can't control certain things that happen in the game, but there are certain things you can control," he said. "I thought the last four minutes in the game and the overtimes, mentally, is about as well as you can play. And that's what we strive for. We're going to miss shots, obviously, it's well-chronicled that we struggled on the offensive end shooting the basketball. But, I never wavered from going away from the guys." Hill now realizes that this is crunch time for his team and they need to play better offensively and defensively. "They have to execute on the defensive and offensive end without the ability to call a time-out and get them set," the coach said. "And that's what we preach, that's what we do every day in practice. That's how we go about things, and I told them. I say the same things win or lose. It's just a lot nicer when you can say them from a win. But mentally, we took a major step forward from the four-minute mark in the game through the two overtimes, and obviously came away with a well-earned, and hard-fought victory." Overall, Hill is happy with the way his team has played as of late. "I'm very happy for our guys," he said, "We have preached from day one that we are going to come out every day and work hard. We are going to get better. They've got to work hard to get better. It's a physical process, it's a mental process. And I told them, I'm proud of them because of the way mentally, I think they took a gigantic step forward. And I would be saying the same thing if we lost. "Winning and losing right now is irrelevant. It really is," Hill added. "We're trying to build something very special. You can't ever get ahead of yourself. We have a lot of work to do. So we keep preaching how you build something, and there's a process you go through, and this is a big step in the process. The win and loss, it's great for our fans, it's great for the kids, I'm happy for them. It makes teaching a little bit nicer. But we're going to come back and go to work on Monday the same way, and continually try to get better." Last Wednesday, Rutgers lost, 62-40, to South Florida. The loss was the team's fifth-straight loss to a conference opponent. Still, the coach stayed positive. "I like the character of our team and I think that there is a point where it becomes mental in terms of shooting the basketball," he said. "There are going to be some tough times, but were just going to keep working, keep playing and going after it and keep defending, and hopefully start to get a little more confidence and get a little better offensively and that's all you can do." Perhaps the coach positive attitude was just what the doctor ordered since Rutgers played Seton Hall University tough and grinded out a much-needed victory. Sometimes having a little faith goes a long way. Next up for Rutgers is West Virginia tonight at the RAC. Game time is set for 7 p.m.