Touted freshman Ace Bailey had 17 points in his college debut, and No. 24 Rutgers beat Monmouth 98-81 on Friday night.
After missing the first two games of the season with what coach Steve Pikiell called a “basketball injury,” Bailey made the first shot of the game — a 3-pointer from the right corner. The guard added six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in 30 minutes.
Bailey, ranked No. 2 in the ESPN 100 for the 2024 class, became the program’s highest-ranked recruit in history when he committed to the Scarlet Knights in January 2023.
Fellow freshman Dylan Harper added 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in the win. He has scored at least 20 points in each game this season for Rutgers (3-0). That’s the third-longest such streak by a Big Ten player to begin a career in the past 25 seasons, trailing only Eric Gordon (seven in 2007) and Kris Humphries (four in 2003).
Zach Martini added 18 points, and Lathan Sommerville had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Abdi Bashir Jr. led Monmouth (0-4) with a career-high 38 points. He was 10-of-17 from 3-point range. Madison Durr added 17 points.
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
