Balance busts streak
Terps display energy, five score in double figures to beat Explorers
Sophomore guard Hakim Hart’s corner 3-point attempt in the second half against La Salle clanked off the side of the rim, but his teammate Donta Scott was right there to clean it up.
The sophomore from Philadelphia soared over a La Salle defender for a one-handed putback dunk, drawing a raucous response from his teammates on the bench. It was a stark contrast from a Maryland team that had lacked energy in the previous two games.
Five Terps scored in double figures, led by junior guard Eric Ayala’s career-high 23, as Maryland beat La Salle, 84-71 in a men’s basketball game at Xfinity Center on Tuesday night, ending a two-game losing streak.
A12-0 run that started with three minutes left in the first half and extended into the second half gave Maryland (5-2) its largest lead of the game at 17.
La Salle (3-4) cut Maryland’s lead to as little as 8 on multiple occasions in the second half but the Terps’ crisply executed offense always had an answer. A three-point play on a driving layup from Ayala gave the Terps an 11-point lead with less than six minutes remaining, and the Explorers never got closer.
Maryland’s defense, which Maryland coach Mark Turgeon on Monday said was a point of emphasis during the seven-day layoff, was particularly active against La Salle. The Terps held the Explorers to 36% shooting from the field in the first half. La Salle finished shooting 43% from the field.
Junior guard Aaron Wiggins recorded 15 points, his first double-digit outing since Nov. 29 against Mount St. Mary’s.
TheTerpsfinishedwithaseason-lowfourturnovers, committing just one in the second half.