Dylan Harper credits Ace Bailey and other teammates after making Rutgers history

Rutgers freshman phenom Dylan Harper secured the first triple-double for the Scarlet Knights in almost 42 years. On Monday night, at Jersey Mike's Arena, Harper scored 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 12 assists in the team's 91-64 win over Columbia.

In the postgame press conference, Harper humbly deflected the praise towards his teammates — especially fellow freshman Ace Bailey, who scored a game-high 24 points.

"Obviously, it's a great accomplishment, but I mean I couldn't have done any of that without my teammates," Harper said (3:33). "I mean, guys like Jamichael Davis, Ace Bailey, the rest of the team just really put me in great positions. They got open for me to find them and for them to score."

"But the most important thing is that we won today, and that's what we did. You know, we prepared great, we just did all the right things, and that's what happened today."

The home crowd erupted into a chorus of "Dylan Harper" chants when he hit the milestone with five minutes remaining in the game. He recorded his 10th assist by setting up an Ace Bailey layup after grabbing his 10th rebound.

The Scarlet Knights had not witnessed a triple-double since Roy Hinson on Mar. 2, 1983 — a drought that Dylan Harper put to rest. Hinson, also a native of New Jersey like Harper, had his historic 24-point, 10-rebound, 10-block performance against Rhode Island.

Dylan Harper's milestone delights Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell

In the aftermath of Rutgers' 91-64 victory over the Columbia Lions, coach Steve Pikiell was overjoyed to see freshman Dylan Harper become the first player in over four decades to record a triple-double for the program.

"Roy Hinson, not only a great player here and in the NBA, but a great guy, too," Steve Pikiell said postgame (1:02).

"To be mentioned with him, for Dylan, that’s a special thing. I love the fact that he had seven rebounds in the first half. We need him to do those things. And he passed the heck out of the ball."

Harper's contributions helped the Scarlet Knights cruise to an easy win following a close loss to rival Princeton in their previous matchup. Ace Bailey led the team in scoring on Sunday with 24 points and he also added 8 rebounds.

Harper and Bailey, both top projected picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, are key contributors to Steve Pikiell's squad this season, which has an 8-5 record. Harper leads Rutgers in scoring (22.8 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg) while Bailey leads the team in rebounds (7.6 rpg).