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PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell got exactly the kind of performance he insists on from his reserves.Ive never been a starter guy, Pikiell said after Rutgers defeated Niagara 78-65 on Sunday in the Scarlet Knight Showcase. I like the finishers. Thats important to me. The way I coach, you gotta be ready.Nigel Johnson led the reserves, equaling a career high with 20 points in helping Rutgers go 4-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 season. The Knights bench outscored Niagara 42-3.Other non-starter contributors were Mike Williams (12 points), CJ Gettys (eight points and eight rebounds), Eugene Omoruyi (six points, four rebounds and two assists) and Candido Sanders (four blocks).With Rutgers trailing 42-41, Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 14:32 remaining for the third and final lead change. The Knights scored 16 straight for a 57-42 lead, and opened their biggest advantage at 70-51.After we went on that run we created a little distance in our lead, Johnson said. I felt like we did a good job closing the game and that was what we were focused on.Matt Scott had 30 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Purple Eagles, who are 0-4 for the first time since starting with six straight losses in the 1989-90 season. Kahlil Dukes had 12 points and Marvin Prochet 11.If youre around (Scott) every day, you just watch how hes blossoming, Niagara coach Chris Casey said. Its fun to watch. Hes blossoming as a player, as a person, as a student. His work ethic is off the charts.BIG PICTURENiagara: The Purple Eagles held a 65-44 advantage in bench points in the first three games. The Eagles blocked nine shots, which equaled their combined total in the first three games.Rutgers: Pikiell became the first Scarlet Knights mens coach to begin his tenure 4-0 and Rutgers defense has been a major reason. Rutgers has allowed an average of 61.7 points per game and opponents are shooting 36.3 percent (84 of 231) against the Knights. Rutgers blocked 11 Purple Eagles shots. Rutgers has won four straight for the first time since 2012-13 when it won five in a row in December.PURPLE POSITIVESCollins felt his young team did some things out of character during Rutgers decisive run, but was still happy with the way it continues to battle. I thought our guys competed extremely hard, I thought we did some very good things in the game, and weve got to use this to build on, move forward onto the next game.DOWNPLAYING STARTEntering Sundays game, the record of Rutgers first four opponents was a combined 2-9. To Pikiells credit, he is not getting carried away with his start. Asked the significance of 4-0, the coach said Nothing. We have to start working for the next game, these guys know we have a long week ahead of us.TECHNICALITIESThere were four technical fouls called, three on Rutgers with two of them on point guard Corey Sanders, who was ejected with 7:01 left.WELCOME TO NJThe Purple Hawks made their first appearance at Rutgers. Niagara won the only other meeting between the two, 73-61, on Dec. 18, 1969.UP NEXTNiagara: After three straight on the road, the Purple Eagles have their first home game since opening-night when they host Drexel on Wednesday.Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights host North Texas Wednesday and will attempt to start 5-0 for the first time since 2000-01, when they opened the season with six straight home games. Wholesale Custom Broncos Shirts . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Custom Broncos T-shirts . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. http://www.custombroncosjersey.com/ . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. Custom Broncos Jersey China . LOUIS -- St. Cheap Custom Broncos Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. When you seemingly have everything thats going to happen in a show laid out for you before it starts, it loses something, no matter how well-executed it is. The element of surprise, even a minor one, keeps a certain tension and excitement thats vitally important to storytelling.So when promotion for the 900th episode of SmackDown revealed a rematch for the Intercontinental championship, a new edition of The Cutting Edge and the return of The Undertaker, it seemed as if things were going to be fairly straightforward (if still somewhat exciting, due to Takers long-awaited return).Tuesdays historic edition of SmackDown Live was anything but straightforward.?Dolph Ziggler?and?The Miz?told a new story while occupying the first 25 percent of the show with their Intercontinental championship match, with Miz earning a shocking win to regain the title.Most shocking of all, however, was The Undertakers appearance in the last five minutes of the show, in which he addressed the SmackDown Survivor Series team, had a face off with Shane McMahon?and essentially announced his return to the roster outside of just a yearly Wrestlemania program (although what that actually means is still anyones guess).For a guy who was already well into his WWE career when SmackDown premiered more than 17 years ago, its incredible to imagine The Undertaker coming back and appearing on a regular basis again while in his third decade with the company. We are inevitably coming closer to him retiring, whether its Wrestlemania next year or another big send-off down the line, but getting to appreciate that chilling entrance and unbelievable crowd energy as many times as The Undertaker will make an appearance is a genuine thrill and immediate dose of nostalgia.Nearly every moment of the evening was focused upon the Survivor Series pay-per-view, which takes place this Sunday in Toronto, including The Undertakers message. Without further ado, lets dig into an action-packed two hours of SmackDown Live.The Miz earns a shocking sixth Intercontinental championship reignViewers couldnt have gotten a better introduction to SmackDowns 900th episode. After a quick retrospective of some of the most memorable moments in the shows history, the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, crowd was immediately thrust into a big-fight atmosphere for what seemed like it might be the last showdown between Ziggler and The Miz for some time.Right away this match felt different and special. There were several sequences where each wrestler countered the others moves, back-and-forth, showcasing the familiarity between them.The storytelling was just as good, as The Miz worked on the leg to try to take away Zigglers super kick, which he used to beat The Miz at No Mercy. Ziggler, meanwhile, did everything to counteract The Mizs attempts at cheating -- starting with feet on the second rope during a pinfall attempt and carrying through to the very end of the match. This match had a frenetic feel while feeling simultaneously well-paced, and quickly got into two-and three-commercial break territory. Despite more than two months of going at it back and forth, the match provided the feeling like you didnt want this rivalry to end.When you have so many matches in a single series, like these two have had (to say nothing of the dozens of matches earlier in their careers), its easy to get a bit repetitive with just a few slight changes each time out. But this rivalry has consistently built upon the story told in the previous match, with Tuesdays meeting offering the feel of desperation as The Miz entered one last go-around for the title before both men moved on.The Miz brought back his use of?Daniel Bryans?kicks to the chest and then used Bryans Busaiku knee finisher, followed immediately by a Skull-Crushing Finale to nearly record a pinfall. Ziggler quickly turned the tables with a Zig Zag to get a two-count of his own, but then the shenanigans began.The Spirit Squad?ran out to provide a distraction, helped The Miz sweep a leg and lock Ziggler in a long figure-four attempt, with Ziggler getting to the ropes. The Miz pulled him to the middle of the ring, attempted another figure-four before Ziggler rolled him up. Cue the interference from?Maryse?who, unlike previous matches where she sprayed Ziggler in the eyes with perfume, simply pushed both men over so that The Miz could control the roll-up and record a quick (and cheap) three-count to win back the title.While nearly everything these two have done together has been great, they will need to push their limits even further to keep this rivalryy feeling fresh should WWE plan to continue it.dddddddddddd There are some definitive drawbacks here -- Zigglers title reign, which he put his career on the line for, ended at 37 days without a single successful title defense on television. Meanwhile, as much as Sundays title match at Survivor Series between The Miz and Sami Zayn?has the potential to be strong, Ziggler-Zayn likely would have been more exciting. ?The Mizs conflict with Bryan also heated up with another fiery Talking Smack confrontation, during which The Miz lambasted his general manager for wanting to trade him for Zayn or?Cesaro.Wherever the Intercontinental title feud goes from here, Tuesdays match certainly set the tone for the rest of the night.The Undertaker invades The Cutting Edge?After a brief introduction from Edge, the time frame from when Team SmackDown entered the ring to the time The Undertaker uttered a rest in peace was fewer than 13 minutes, but it packed in everything that was needed to tie a bow around a proper build to the mens traditional five-on-five Survivor Series match.It started with Edge shunning?AJ Styles?and shaking?James Ellsworths hand, with Styles denying a five-second pose (which ultimately did happen on Talking Smack). There was a confrontation between Edge and?Randy Orton, the former Rated RKO teammates, before Styles and?Dean Ambrose?got into it just long enough for the iconic gong to hit and the lights to go out.The Undertaker had a few messages to deliver; firstly, he recognized McMahon as SmackDowns fearless leader (complete with a tip of his hat). He then proclaimed that WrestleMania will no longer define who I am. Im back -- taking souls and digging holes. He went on to acknowledge that Survivor Series is where his character was born and that SmackDown has always been my home.Finally, he laid down the law by issuing a challenge.If you fail, you have reason to fear The Deadman, The Undertaker said. And Team Raw better rest ... in ... peace.Hits and missesAlexa Bliss?was finally guaranteed a rematch for the SmackDown womens championship after an exasperated Bryan finally acquiesced upon seeing the clip for the fifth time.?Natalya, who was channeling her inner Bill Alfonso all night with the whistle, carried on her gimmick of ripping off songs to provide inspiration to her team by quoting the all-time classic Tubthumping by Chumbawamba (look it up kids) and Bliss, wide-eyed, called her out for it.The SmackDown womens division received the same kind of treatment as the men did the night before on Raw, as first?Charlotte, and then the rest of the Raw womens team, emerged from the audience to bring a?Nikki Bella-Carmella?match to a premature end. Both squads showed unity (almost too much so, as?Bayley?joining in on a 5-on-1 attack on Bella felt ... weird), with the SmackDown women running out to help their captain and stand tall together (which they continued to do during a lengthy segment together on Talking Smack).For the record, everything about this short match between Bella and Carmella made me cringe. Maybe thats a sign of good storytelling and execution, but I couldnt help but think there might have been one or two too many chances taken, including a sickening neckbreaker from the apron to the floor on Bella and her surgically repaired neck.Using NXT talents as enhancement talent on SmackDown makes sense, and Oney Lorcan afforded himself very well in a short match against Kalisto. Lorcan got off to an aggressive start as he blindsided Kalisto with some brutal uppercuts in opposite corners. He also made up for a Kalisto botch on the middle rope like the in-ring veteran he is, covering for the mistake and carrying the match through to Kalisto hitting the Salida Del Sol for the victory.We got a King Booker backstage appearance, during which he hit all of the memorable lines one would expect. His interaction with the SmackDown tag team Survivor Series team was what a nostalgia bit should be -- letting the young guys get most of the shine, while Booker got to brush back the fashion police?Breezango.Tuesdays tag team match, a slightly smaller version of the 20-man Survivor Series match, pitted four of the five teams (excluding the champions) that will represent SmackDown on Sunday against the four teams that didnt make the cut. It was a nice filler match, but aside from a few fun spots it mostly seemed as if they were saving their best for the match thatll actually matter. ' ' '