PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers forward Deshawn Freeman and coach Steve Pikiell had some discussions about Freemans zero-rebound effort against Niagara, and whatever was said made a difference.Freeman followed up with 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as Rutgers defeated North Texas 66-53 in the Scarlet Knight Showcase on Wednesday night.I had no energy (against Niagara), said Freeman, who got his third double-double of the season. Grabbing rebounds gives me a lot of energy.Nigel Johnson and Mike Williams had 10 points each as the Scarlet Knights moved to 5-0 for the first time since 2000-01.Shane Temara had a career-high 16 points for the Mean Green (1-3), who lost their third straight. Deckie Johnson added 13 points and seven rebounds. North Texas played without second-leading scorer Jeremy Combs, who was resting a sore ankle.Trailing 25-24, Rutgers scored seven straight to start the second half and take the lead for good. Leading 43-40, the Scarlet Knights put it away with an 18-2 run to go up 61-42 with 2:52 remaining.The win was keyed by a hard-nosed defensive effort, which Pikiell preaches.I know you would say this game was a little bit ugly but I think it was beautiful, Pikiell said. We couldnt score and it didnt matter.North Texas coach Tony Benford liked how his team hung tough while playing short-handed.I thought we played hard, he said. We are down five scholarship guys. When we get our whole team back, we will be very competitive.BIG PICTURENorth Texas: The Mean Green allowed a season-low in points by holding Rutgers to 36.5 percent shooting (23 of 63), but only shot 33.3 percent (19 of 57) and were outrebounded 53-38. We wanted to do everything we could to control tempo and stay in the game, Benford said. I thought we did that early on, but we couldnt keep them off the glass.Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights have not defeated a team with a winning record yet, but their best start in 16 years earned them one vote in the AP poll. Rutgers has not been ranked since it finished No. 18 in the final poll of 1978-79. We dont talk about that, we talk about the team were playing and what we need to do, Pikiell said. People look at records, I look at tape. Rutgers entered the game among the national leaders in offensive rebounding (fifth, 18.25), rebounding margin (seventh, 18.5), and total rebounds (ninth, 48.5).GOOD AND BADThe 66 points tied a season-low for Rutgers and the 53 were the least it allowed this season.UGLY OFFENSERutgers made its first 3-pointer then missed 13 straight and finished 3 for 20 from behind the arc. North Texas had eight shots blocked, including five by Candido Sa.PLEASED TO MEET YOUThis was the first meeting between the two schools, and it left North Texas 1-10 against Big Ten competition.PIKIELL PERFECTAt 5-0, Pikiell continued to add to the best start for a Scarlet Knights coach beginning his tenure.UP NEXTNorth Texas: The Mean Green hosts Niagara on Friday to kick off a five-game homestand. North Texas plays nine of its first 12 games at home.Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights host Hartford Friday, and will attempt to go 6-0 for the first time since 1975-76, when the schools lone Final Four team won its first 31 games. Cheap NFL Jerseys . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Cheap NFL Jerseys 2018 .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. http://www.usnfllockroom.com/ .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Throwback Cheap NFL Jerseys .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals seem to be undergoing something of a personality change.The big-play passing offense that propelled them to a 13-3 record a year ago is giving way to a ground game centered on dynamic running back David Johnson.Coach Bruce Arians said the philosophy hasnt changed but the running game has.Weve always wanted to run it, Arians said after practice Wednesday. We havent always been able to. With the running back situation, were able to run the football and that makes it a whole lot easier, especially on the quarterback. But, no, our philosophy hasnt changed. Were still how we are.Quarterback Carson Palmer agreed.Its what we want to do. I think its what everybody wants to do, he said. You run the ball and you go play-action and take our shots. There hasnt been a ton of it (in the past). I think the main thing is weve gotten so much better in the run game. Were doing such a good job up front, regardless of whos kind of filtered in with injuries. But weve improved our running game dramatically.The Cardinals have rushed for at least 170 yards in consecutive games for the first time since 1988, the teams first season in Arizona, in wins that evened the teams record at 3-3.But there have been hardly any of those big passing plays that have been so common in the past. Perhaps its because defenses have adjusted to take those away or receivers havent been able to get separation or Palmer has underthrown them. The lone long pass for a touchdown this season was a 51-yarder from Palmer to Jaron Brown in Week 2s 40-7 victory over Tampa Bay.Palmer was 23 for 34 for 213 yards and a touchdown in Monday nights 28-3 victory over the New York Jets but the longest pass play was 14 yards.Everybody loves the home run ball, Palmer said, but completions are completions. Whether its a two-yard or 12-yard or five-yard, when defenders have to run and tackle somebody it wears you out defensively. Its demoralizing when you get lots of completions, and theres the ability to miss tackles, which is something we really do well.The running game did produce Johnsons 58-yard touchdown.Two of the other TDs against the Jets came on 14-play drives, one consuming 7 minutes, 37 seconds oof the third quarter, the other 7:26 of the fourth.ddddddddddddArizona also had a 17-play touchdown drive against Buffalo, making the Cardinals the only team in the league with three touchdown drives of at least 14 plays this season.The longer you go, the more tired the defense gets, Palmer said, and you could tell on some of Daves touchdown runs, once we did get down there. He just kind of walked right in, especially on one of them.Johnson rushed for 111 yards against the Jets. He had a pair of two-yard scoring runs up the middle along with his 58-yard play.Hes loving the load hes being asked to carry.Just continue to pound the rock, he said. Thats receivers and tight ends blocking down the field, helping me string out those long runs. I get tired but obviously its a good thing.Earl Watford, who moved in at right guard last week after Evan Mathis went down with a season-ending ankle injury, was far downfield on Johnsons long run. He doesnt know how many people he blocked on the play.Run blocking is fun. Im not going to lie, Watford said. Thats probably the best thing about football, just running the ball.Its great motivation for the line to block for a runner of Johnsons ability.You know you give him a little bit, hes going to get a lot, Watford said.Arians gave the entire offensive front a game ball, including the tight ends.One-hundred seventy-one yards (rushing) and no sacks, he said. Thats worthy of a game ball for a blocking unit.The Cardinals split the offense evenly against New York -- 35 running plays, 35 passing plays.Next up is a Seattle defense thats one of the NFLs best, especially against the run.The Cardinals wont change their approach.Were going to come out and try to run the ball, Palmer said.Game notes Palmer got a scheduled day off. ... wide receivers Jaron Brown (knee) and John Brown (hamstring) did not practice. ... guard Mike Iupati, who missed the Jets game with a sprained ankle, practiced and looked good, Arians said.---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap NFL T-shirts Discount Jerseys Wholesale NFL Gear Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping China Jerseys Cheap Stitched Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Jerseys NFL Cheap Cheap Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic ' ' '