James Beatty scored 18 points, including shooting 5-of-6 from the arc, and the Scarlet Knights continued to play stingy defense under first-year coach Mike Rice in sailing past Norfolk State, 83-59, at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on Tuesday.

The Scarlet Knights sank six of seven 3-point tries in the first half when they shot 56 percent (18-of-32) from the floor in doubling up Norfolk, 44-22.

Mike Coburn chipped in 12 points and seven assists and Gilvydas Biruta had 11 points and eight rebounds for Rutgers, which hired Rice following his success at Robert Morris, which last year lost to Villanova in overtime as a No. 15 seed in the NCAA tourney.

It was the third straight double-digit victory for the Scarlet Knights after losing at Princeton in their opener, including stifling Miami (Fla.) in a 61-45 home win Sunday. They've yielded just 52.3 points per game during the streak, and entered Tuesday night holding opponents to 35.9 percent shooting.

Rob Hampton's game-high 20 points led Norfolk (1-3), which plays only two of its first 12 games at home. The Spartans' lone win came at home Nov. 16 against Jacksonville State.

The programs' only other meeting was a 63-58 Rutgers home victory in December 2004.