2003 - 2004
Rutgers defeats West Virgina in a decisive victory 74-53
February 25
Over the last three games at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, Rutgers has held its opponents to an average of 19.6 first-half points
Ax makes 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals
Rutgers falls to Boston College 76-44
Axani still continues to play limited time bothered by a shoulder injury.
February 22
Northern Colorado sent packing with a 102 -52 loss
February 17
For the fourth time this season, Rutgers limited its opponent to under 20 points in a half.
Rutgers gets hot taking care of Virginia Tech 85 -52
February 15
[Photo courtesy of the Rutgers Basketball Program]
Rutgers looses in a close game to Syracuse
February 10
Seton Hall snaps Rutgers winning streak
February 7
Affected by a painful shoulder injury, Sean plays only 13 minutes
Rutgers is extending a winning streak to four by defeating Miami in overtime 72 - 70
February 4
In a final overtime floor scramble for the ball, Sean receives a shoulder injury.
AXANI COMES WITHIN TWO POINTS OF ‘DOUBLE-DOUBLE’
Senior Sean Axani scored eight points and had 10 rebounds against Miami. It is the fifth game this season, Axani has pulled down double-digit rebounds.
Notre Dame visits and goes home with a major loss to Rutgers 81-70
Rutgers is now 4 and 4 in the Big East. Two of those teams are top ten in the nation.
January 31
Sean Axani has been selected as the recipient of the Scholar Athlete Award for the academic year 2002-2003 for Basketball. The award will be presented at a special honors ceremony February 29, 2004, attended by the Board of Governors, University Trustees and administrators.
[photos courtesy of Rutgers Basketball program]
Rutgers defeats Villenova at Villenova for the first time 71 -68 and scores the first Big East road win in two years.
January 28
"Senior Sean Axani connected on his third three-pointer of his career in the second half to put the Scarlet Knights up 55-54 with just over nine minutes remaining. RU would never fall behind after that en route to the victory. Axani had 9 points , 6 rebounds, 2 assists and three huge blocks."
[photos courtesy of Rutgers Basketball program]
Rutgers defeats the Red Storm for the first time in eight years. Rutgers vs. St Johns 78 - 70
January 24
"Rutgers, which held a 37-34 advantage in the rebounding department, was led in that category by senior forward Sean Axani who pulled down nine boards" He also had 4 points, 1 block and 2 steals in only 19 minutes of play. Rutgers has lead in rebounding in the last 11 of 16 games.
[photos courtesy of Rutgers Basketball program]
Rutgers defeated at Miami 63-73
January 21
Rutgers falls to an undefeated Pittsburgh 49-59
January 17
tgers Falls at Undefeated #13/15Rut
Rutgers Falls at Undefeated #13/15
Rutgers Defeats Monmouth in OT, 78-75
January 13
"AXANI POSTS DOUBLE-DOUBLE, SETS CAREER HIGHS"
"With 11 points and 11 rebounds tonight against the Hawks, Sean Axani recorded his second career double-double. Against Buffalo on Nov. 25, 2003, he had 10 points and 12 rebounds in a 78-53 victory over the Bulls. Axani also matched his career high in assists for the second time this season, totaling six tonight. He tied his career high of 35 minutes during regulation, finishing with a career-high 40 minutes in the game."
[courtesy of Rutgers Basketball Program]
Rutgers rallies from an 11 point deficit to put away # 25 Providence 65-64
January 10
Rutgers PRutRut
ast #25 Providence, 65-64
Rutgers nearly pull an upset and looses by one point to #1 Connecticut 75-74
January 6
[Photo courtesy of Rutgers Basketball Program]
Rutgers rallies to within 2 points but falls to Georgetown 63-57
January 3
Rutgers defeats Northwestern 80 - 54
December 27
Rutgers outrebounded Northwestern 42-26, and marks the second time they have scored 80 points in a game this season
"Knights in Armor - Defense is at the center as Rutgers stops Wallace"
[Tom Lucci * Star Ledger Sunday Dec 14]
Rutgers rolls on to another home victory against Princeton 51-49
December 13
Princeton's leading scorer 6'10 ' Judson Wallace [center] ranked 12 nationally at 22.8 ppg. and three games of 26 points [63.1 % shooting] was held to a worst game 5 ponts. Frustrated, he was slapped with a technical after spewing a few choice four letter words. Axani, who eventually fouled out has played and won against Princton four years in a row. Although he only scored 2 points [in one very beautifully timed backhand basket] in 15 minutes of play, Sean was one of two key players in shutting down Wallace.
"Rutgers has held its opponents to 21 points or less in a half in three of six games this year."
[Asbury Park Press, Dec 14, Gannett New Jersey]
Rutgers puts away Penn State 60-47
December 10
It was the first-ever road win against a Big Ten opponent. Sean Axani, one of the best defensive players in the Big East, scored 5 points and had a game high 10 rebounds, two assists and one block. Axani, playing 36 minutes, held 7' Jan Jagla [averaging 18 points] to a season low of only 9 points in 34 minutes.
Rutgers Picks Up Road Win at Penn State 60-47
DECEMBER 10, 2003
RU is holding opponents to 37.9% shooting from the field and teams are shooting just 24.7% from three-point range. Senior forward and captain Sean Axani has led the defensive effort. He paces the team in steals (3.5/game) and is tied for the team lead in rebounds (7.5/game).
[Photo and statement courtesy of Rutgers Basketball]
Rutgers Defeats Temple 77-67
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DECEMBER 3, 2003
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November 29, Madison Wisconson vs. Rutgers 55-43
Sean Axani had 7 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocked shots
He is now # 3 in the nation for steals
November 25, Rutgers vs. Buffalo 78-53
Axani Leads the Way
Red Bank grad does it all to win
Playing 35 minutes of the game, Axani had more than done his part, filling the box score in nearly every statistical category. The fifth year senior tallied 10 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, six assists, five steals, five blocks to lead Rutgers past Buffalo. "You can't ask for a better stat line than that" Waters said. "What you saw was a typical Sean Axani effort". It was Axani who helped inspire a 20-7 run over the first seven minutes in the second half as Rutgers turned a 39-29 halftime advantage into a rout. And it was Axani, of course, who punctuated the run with an emphatic dunk, an alley-oop with 8:56 remaining for his first career double-double.
[Keith Sargent, Asbury Park Press, November 26, 2003]
[Photo Courtesy of Rutgers Basketball program]
AXANI CAREER HIGH IN REBOUNDS, ASSISTS
Tonight’s win over Buffalo improved Rutgers to 2-0 on the season. The Scarlet Knights improve to 27-8 (.771) under third-year head coach Gary Waters at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
Coming off a career-high six steals against Lafayette, senior center
Sean Axani (Red Bank, NJ) established a new career-high in rebounds
when he grabbed his 10th of the night at the 14:26 mark of the second
half. He also had six assists in the win over Buffalo, establishing a
new career high.
Additionally,
Axani also recorded his first-career double-double when a slam dunk at
8:56 of the second half gave him 10 points. He finished with 10 points,
12 rebounds, six assists, five steals and tied a career high with five
blocks.
[Rutgers Basketball Website]
[Photo Courtesy of Rutgers
Basketball program]
November 22, Rutgers vs. Lafayette 71-65
Staying Power
Waters makes concessions to keep Axani from Leaving
[Photo by Chris Faytok * The star-Ledger * November 16, 2003]
Back for a fourth seson, Axani couldn't be happier. The Scarlet Knights captain said he senses a new attitude surrounding the Scarlet Knights as they prepared for their season opener against Lafayette. Perhaps just as important, after playing out of position at center, the 6-8 2345 pound Axani has shifted to power forward. "It's time he got back to his real position" said Waters. "He is also what I call, the pillar of our program. I thought one of the issues that hurt us last year was leadership. Now he's excited about his senior year, the team and the players. This is a good bunch of kids. Sean doesn't hesitate to lead all of it. He not only leads verbally and how he plays out on the floor, he also leads in their direction off the floor and that's very good."
[Don Burke * Star-Ledger Staff* Sunday November 16, 2003]
Axani wants to lead team to NCAA's
The toughness of Rutgers forward Sean Axani has never been questioned. "Put it this way , Sean's a pretty tough kid, and I think we might just see his mean streak this season" said senior forward Justin Piasecki, Axani's roommate and teammate. There were doubts that Axani wouldn't return - he already has his four-year degree in economics. But there was some unfinished business left for him at Rutgers. The one thing missing from his resume is an NCAA Tournament appearance. He didn't want to leave Rutgers without one.
Axani said he wasn't sure whether he wanted to come back following last season's 12-16 campaign. The team 's most articulate player, Axani wanted to make sure Rutgers coach Gary Waters weeded out the players that caused chemistry problems before he make his decision. "I talked to coach [Waters] after the season because there were some issues the team needed to address," Axani said last week. "We talked about who was coming back and the types of players he wanted to bring in." Said Waters, "The coaching staff has an open communication with all the players, but I value Sean's opinion greatly. He had issues he wanted settled and I wanted him to evaluate things before he made up his mind. Whatever Sean does in life, he's going to succeed , but one of the things I told him was, what's better to someone interested in sports management than to be a captain of a basketball te4am. He wants to be a leader. And he knows he has a stake of ownership in this team."
[Keith Sargeant * Home News Tribune * Sunday October 26, 2003]