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.Hockey Jerseys From China .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Online . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. http://www.cheaphockeyjerseyssale.com/ . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St.LOS ANGELES -- Former NFL star Darren Sharper was sentenced Tuesday a 20-year prison term, ending a tour of shame and punishment in the courthouse where he first admitted drugging and raping women in four states.Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor denounced Sharpers horrible conduct and disgraceful abuse of trust during the hearing that concluded prosecutions that unmasked the popular former all-pro safety and Super Bowl champ as a serial rapist.Under the terms of a plea deal negotiated with prosecutors in four states, Sharper will be eligible for parole in about eight years because California law requires he serve half his sentence and he has already been behind bars more than two years since his arrest.But he will probably serve more time if an appeals court upholds an 18-year prison sentence handed down by a New Orleans federal judge who rejected the deal as too lenient. Sharper has appealed that harsher sentence.Sharper, 41, sat quietly in court in orange jail scrubs and never addressed the court or two emotional victims who spoke about evenings that began innocently enough partying with friends turned into nightmares they can no longer escape after he secretly slipped drugs in their shot glasses and insisted they drink.Both women blacked out and later awoke to the groggy reality that something terribly wrong had occurred that they couldnt immediately comprehend in their drug-induced stupor.I started vomiting, my head was pounding and I had trouble seeing clearly, said one victim, who said her rape on Jan. 15, 2014 was the worst night of my life.The woman, identified only as Jane Doe 2, teared up before she even addressed the court and dabbed at her nose with a tissue throughout. She said her surfing career spiraled downward afterward, she lost her self-confidence, lives in fear and at one point considered suicide.The only good thing about this situation is that this disgusting low-life human will be sent to prison for many years and is likely he will never be able to do to this to another woman again, she said. I hope this scumbag will now feel as worthless as he has made me feel.Sharper, 41, was working as an NFL network analyst when women in several cities began reporting how nights of partying with their girlfriends and Sharper ended witth them waking up in his hotel room confused and discovering they had been sexually assaulted.ddddddddddddSharpers arrest came as the NFL was dealing with off-field problems with players accused of crimes ranging from spousal abuse to murder.The second woman, identified as Jane Doe 4, was with a friend when they were drugged by Sharper in his hotel room in 2013, hours after they met at a Sports Illustrated 50th anniversary party.She woke up on a bed with her clothes on, blood coming out of her nose and did now know where she was. She said her friend had been sexually assaulted, and both fled fearing for their lives.Its one thing to be a victim, but to be the victim that got `lucky in some eyes is not easy to live with, Jane Doe 4 said. When I think back to that night I wonder what he could have done to me. Thats not lucky. Its haunting.The Associated Press does not generally name people who are victims of sex crimes.Sharper retired from the league in 2011 after a 14-year career with the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings and, finally, in New Orleans with the Saints, where he won a Super Bowl.Lawyers for Sharper had vigorously disputed the charges before he abruptly gave up his defense in March 2015 on the eve of a preliminary hearing to decide if the Los Angeles case would go to trial.From the Los Angeles courtroom, Sharper appeared by video-conferencing and pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting one woman and trying to attack another in suburban Phoenix in 2013.An hour later, he pleaded no contest to drugging and raping two women he picked up at a West Hollywood bar on two occasions in late 2013 and early 2014.The next day, he pleaded guilty via video to a reduced felony attempted sex assault charge for a Las Vegas case.He later pleaded guilty in Louisiana to federal charges of drugging women so he could rape them and state charges to three counts of rape.At Sharpers sentencing in Louisiana federal court, he told the judge he wanted to apologize a thousand times.On Tuesday in the Los Angeles courtroom, Sharper had nothing to say besides providing simple, short answers to routine legal sentencing questions posed by the judge. 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