PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Dylan Haper is back, and with his return to form Rutgers basketball snapped a three-game losing streak with a 75-68 win over UCLA on Monday night.

Rutgers was led by 20 points from freshman forward Ace Bailey. But it was Harper, limited the past two games due to the flu, who had the biggest impact on the Scarlet Knights.

Harper had a bounce-back performance reminscent of his start to the season. The freshman guard finished with  18 points to key Rutgers to the win.

Down 33-30 at halftime, Rutgers rattled off eight straight points to start the second half.

Bailey hit a huge 3-point shot with 1:40 left in the game to extend Rutgers to a 66-62 lead.

With the win, Rutgers is now 9-8 (2-4 Big Ten).

Starting lineup
Rutgers rolled out a new lineup against UCLA, starting Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, Tyson Acuff, Dylan Grant, Lathan Sommerville.

Game ball
After a quiet first half where he scored six points (on 2-of-6 shooting), Harper scored on his first three buckets of the second half, all part of an 18-point performance. Then the former five-star guard got hot in the second half. Harper looked fresh and had some bounce to his step, running the offense efficiently.

Stats
Dylan Harper 18 pts 4 rebs 2 asts 1 blk 1 stl
Ace Bailey 20 points 10 rebs 2 assts 3 blks 1 stl
Tyson Acuff 3 pts 1 asst
Dylan Grant 3 pts 2 rebs 2 blks
Lathan Sommerville 6 pts 9 rebs 1 blk
Jamichael Davis 4 pts 3 rebs
Emmanuel Ogbole 4 pts 5 rebs
Jeremiah Williams 11 pts 1 reb 1 asst 1 stl
Zach Martini 4 pts 1 reb

Did you notice…

• Ace Bailey continues to grow defensively. He had an impressive block in the first half (on Aday Mara) and was very active on the boards. And that block at 8:59 in the second half? What a statement from Bailey.
• As for Monday night’s star, Dylan Harper looked better and more fluid. One example of this pep came at 13:50 in the first half where, after Rutgers got an offensive rebound on a missed free throw, Harper drove to his left, got to the hoop, squared up and made a tough lay-up with three UCLA players around him. Then there was his lay-up at 8:30 in the first half where he split two UCLA defenders on his way to the basket.
• The insertion of Dylan Grant into the starting five was definitely a boost for Rutgers. Grant brought considerable energy to Rutgers and defensively he added some needed bite.
• Rutgers started the second half going 6-of-7 from the floor to stake themselves to a 46-41 lead early in the second half. Following a first half where Rutgers scratched and clawed to stay within reach, the burst in the second half was a welcome sight for fans.
• It was also a quietly good night from Emmanuel Ogbole. The Rutgers center, who came off the bench for a second straight game, had 4 points and 5 rebounds.
• In the first half, Rutgers went down 7-0 early and head coach Steve Pikiell was noticeably animated along the bench. There was a sense of urgency from this team that was apparent when they stepped on the court for warm-ups, and it translated to what was a resilient performance in the second half from Rutgers.

Next up
Rutgers will hit the road on Thursday with a game at Nebraska (9:00 p.m. ET, FS1).