Rutgers (2-0) outscored Saint Peter’s (0-3) 11-0 in the final four minutes of the contest to pull away and survive the scare, but it was a bit too close for comfort for much of the evening for the Scarlet Knights.

Freshman guard Dylan Harper's 24 points led No. 24 Rutgers to a tightly contested 75-65 win over Saint Peter's on Monday night in Piscataway, N.J. Lathan Sommerville scored 14 points

Rutgers faced an early-season test against a well-coached and tough Saint Peter’s squad that was in search of a signature victory in-state. Trailing with just over four minutes left in the contest, 24th-ranked Rutgers had to dig deep and show off the qualities of a Steve Pikiell coached team on the defensive end of the floor.

That is one of the main takeaways for Rutgers after it survived a scare from Saint Peter’s in a nail-biting 75-65 victory at Jersey Mike’s Arena. The No. 24 Scarlet Knights (2-0) had to fight tooth-and-nail to defeat the Peacocks (0-3) — who battled Seton Hall and UMass Lowell down to the wire last week and nearly derailed Rutgers’ dream season before it got off the ground — and they are better off for it.