GAME NOTES: Rutgers tries to remain perfect against Monmouth when the two teams meet for a non-conference clash at the MAC on Sunday afternoon.

The Scarlet Knights, who have won all eight of the previous meetings in the series, have had trouble playing consistent basketball this season, although they are still two games over .500 at the moment. The squad, which has yet to win more than two straight outings, has logged victories in three of the last four contests, thanks to a 78-54 triumph over visiting Sacred Heart five days ago.

Meanwhile, the Hawks are a game under .500 overall but already off to a 2-0 start in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action with wins over Marist and Iona earlier this month. More recently, the team was throttled by a former league foe from the NEC, St. Francis of Brooklyn, by a score of 71-46 last Tuesday night at home.

The 25-point margin of victory for the Knights over Sacred Heart was the largest of the season and the largest since Rutgers drilled Stillman, 116-89, now just over a year ago.

Aside from a brief two-point advantage in the opening moments of the first half, Sacred Heart was playing from behind against the Scarlet Knights and never really stood a chance. Mike Williams led the attack for Rutgers with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor, followed by Myles Mack with 19 points and six assists for a team that survived only 5-of-21 shooting beyond the arc and 12-of-21 at the free-throw line. Defensively, the hosts held Sacred Heart to only 27.3 percent accuracy from the floor and forced 18 turnovers.

Mack and Kadeem Jack are the only double-digit scorers for the Scarlet Knights, putting up 13.7 and 13.3 ppg, respectively, but both are also shooting under 40 percent from the floor. Mack tries to offset his lackluster accuracy by pacing the program with 58 assists and 29 steals, while Jack's area of expertise seems to be in the paint where he is the top rebounder with 7.2 boards per outing.

The Hawks fell behind 14-0 to open the meeting with St. Francis and never recovered, as the team shot only 37.3 percent from the field overall, including 2-of-9 behind the 3-point line. Monmouth, which turned the ball over 14 times, was dominated on the glass, 42-24, and managed to collect just five boards at the offensive end.

Brice Kofane was the lone double-digit scorer for the group with his 13 points, stemming from 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Only two other players, Josh James and Andrew Nicholas, converted more than a pair of field goals for the Hawks in the lopsided defeat.

Deon Jones, who missed all three of his field goal attempts and was held scoreless over 12 minutes of action in the last outing, is still the overall scoring leader for the Hawks with his 12.7 ppg, not to mention placing second on the unit with 4.8 rpg. Justin Robinson is the other double-digit scorer with 10.6 ppg, thanks to 41.0 percent on 3-point attempts. As a unit, the Hawks are posting just 63.7 ppg, which means opponents are outscoring them by just under one point per contest.

Both of these teams have had their issues this season, but the Hawks seem to have more trouble generating offense, enough to compete against tougher competition, which is enough of a reason to lean towards the visitors in this meeting.