Rutgers 61, Fairleigh Dickinson 44: Junior Etou had 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Bishop Daniels led all scorers with 18, as the short-handed Scarlet Knights bounced back from a season-opening loss with an easy win over the visiting Knights.

Rutgers (1-1) again played without its best player, Kadeem Jack, an NBA prospect who is nursing a thumb injury. But the Scarlet Knights shot 39.6 percent from the field and led the Knights for more than 37 minutes, five days after a disheartening 70-53 home loss to George Washington.

Mustafaa Jones had 15 points and three steals for Fairleigh Dickinson (2-1), and Darius Stokes had eight points and seven rebounds, but the Knights failed to secure their first three-game winning streak in two years. Fairleigh Dickinson, which upset Rutgers 73-72 last season, was aggressive, forcing the hosts into 18 turnovers, but couldn't recover from a poor first half that saddled the Knights with a 37-16 deficit at the break.

Etou took over midway through the first half, scoring seven consecutive points, including a jumper that gave Rutgers a 20-9 lead. Fairleigh Dickinson went cold from there as Xavier Harris' jumper with 2:23 left was the visitors' only points in the half's final three minutes.

Greg Lewis and Myles Mack combined for 14 rebounds as the Scarlet Knights won the battle of the boards 49-30. Rutgers was able to penetrate down low, forcing the Knights into 20 fouls, and the Scarlet Knights took advantage, shooting 19-of-25 from the line.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Knights last won three in a row from Nov. 23-28, 2012, when they defeated Delaware State, Prairie View, and Saint Peter's. ... D.J. Foreman started in place of Jack for Rutgers and had seven points and four rebounds. ... There were double technical fouls called on Lewis and Harris after a second-half altercation.