It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Rustin ultimately got the result they hoped for on Monday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Norman Thomas 63-61. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
When it comes to explaining why Norman Thomas lost, one person who can't be blamed is Jaden Chazulle. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 26 points and 14 rebounds. Those 14 rebounds set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Jason Guzman, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Even though they lost, Norman Thomas were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
The win got Rustin back to even at 5-5. As for Norman Thomas, they bumped their record down to 4-10 with that defeat, which was their fifth straight on the road.
Rustin's homestand continues as they prepare to take on Martin Luther King Jr Educational Campus at 5:00 p.m. on January 11th. As for Norman Thomas, they will head out on the road to face off against Van Buren at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.
