ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Although Rutgers is 3-0 for the first time in eight years, Steve Pikiell isnt ready to make any declarations about his team just yet.Weve got a long ways to go, the first-year coach said. Im happy weve got to a good start, but it doesnt mean a whole heck of a lot to me, honestly.Were just trying to get these guys in the mode of defending and rebounding. It helps you win basketball games.Corey Sanders had 15 points, Mike Williams added 14 and nine rebounds and the Scarlet Knights used the defense-and-rebounding formula for a 66-59 victory over DePaul in the Gavitt Tip-Off Games on Thursday night.Deshawn Freeman added nine points and nine rebounds as the Scarlet Knight built a 46-27 rebounding edge.Eli Cain had 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting to lead DePaul.Billy Garrett had just five points for the Blue Demons (1-1) on 1-for-11 shooting before fouling out with more than eight minutes remaining.I can get a little bit concerned because its the second game in a row where hes got in foul trouble and hasnt shot the ball well, DePaul coach Dave Leitao said.You cant be talked about as one of the top seven, eight or nine best players in the (Big East) and not play well. Thats something we have to figure out.DePaul freshman Devin Gage suffered a right shoulder injury when he fell hard to the court with just under 12 minutes left. He did not return.Rutgers took control with a 12-2 run for a 31-22 lead. The Scarlet Knights had a 33-26 halftime advantage.Both teams shot poorly in the first half, but the difference for Rutgers was an 11-0 edge in second-chance points and a 29-8 first-half rebounding advantage.The Scarlet Knights continued to expand the lead at the beginning of the second half and took a 54-32 advantage (their biggest of the game) on a basket by Shaquille Doorson with 10:39 to play.I thought our guys were kind of locked in and did a really good job defensively, Pikiell said. Weve become a much improved defensive team and were a good rebounding team.DePaul made a furious late rally using pressure to pull within six points in the final minute, but dug too deep a hole.I think the beginning of the second half killed us, Cain said. We really couldnt get anything good on the offensive end.BIG PICTURERutgers: Although the Scarlet Knights are unbeaten, its way too early to tell whether the program is on the rebound. So far, the competition has been underwhelming (Molloy, Drexel and DePaul) and there was plenty not to like about this performance. Still, the defense and rebounding provide a good foundation to build upon.DePaul: The Blue Demons dont have a lot of offensive firepower to begin with, so scoring is especially difficult when Garrett has a poor shooting night. The lack of a post presence put all the pressure to provide offense on Cain, who had 21 points in the opener against Robert Morris.OLD FRIENDSPikiell and Leitao both were assistants under former Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun. Pikiell also played for Calhoun at UConn.Dave Leitao is like my hero, Pikiell said. He was my coach at UConn, I worked with him, he was mentor and I know what a great coach he is.UP NEXTRutgers looks to stay unbeaten when it hosts Niagara on Sunday.DePaul plays the second of three straight home games Sunday against Milwaukee. Ryan Tannehill Jersey . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Charles Harris Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. http://www.officialauthenticdolphinsshop.com/authentic-leonte-carroo-jersey.html . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. DeVante Parker Jersey . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Miami Dolphins Jerseys . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Under-fire Brisbane coach Justin Leppitsch is a relieved man after the Lions held on for a nail-biting four-point AFL victory over Carlton, one that so easily could have gone the other way.The Lions snared their third win of the year but had to do it the hard way.They withstood a furious late comeback from the Blues who were 41 points down at one stage in the third quarter before getting to within three points with seconds left.Leppitsch hailed his leaders - including Dayne Zorko and Tom Rockliff who ran riot in midfield - for showing the way.He also had high praise for his young players for their late heroics defence in sealing the 15.9 (99) to 13.17 (95) victory.After losing their previous two games by a combined 232 points, it didnt matter how they got it done as long as they got it done in front of 17,432 fans at the Gabba.Fortune favours us today and its a good feeling for our club, said Leppitsch, who is fighting to save his job ahead of an end-of-season review.Its good just for our supporters too, to get the Gabba cheering again and come away feeling good about themselves.Skipper Rockliff finished wiith a game-high 39 disposals, 12 tackles and six clearances and together with former Blues player Mitch Robinson (22 disposals, 11 tackles), was everywhere for Brisbane when the game needed to be won.ddddddddddddZorko (27 disposals) kicked three goals and directly set-up four others - three of them to forward Michael Close who finished with a career-best haul of four and was simply irresistible in the first half.The Blues, who suffered their ninth-straight defeat, were left to rue inaccurate goalkicking and a failure to convert their dominance after going forward 68 times to Brisbanes 46.They kicked the first two goals of the game but Brisbane responded with nine of the next 11 to take a stranglehold on the match.Carlton coach Brendan Bolton insisted they didnt underestimate the Lions.We just didnt bring enough defensive intent, he said. 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