Maryland squeezes past PSU in Big Ten opener
COLLEGE PARK, MD. >> Freshman Jalen Smith scored 16 points, Bruno Fernando had 12 points and 13 rebounds and No. 24 Maryland opened Big Ten play by slipping past Penn State 6659 Saturday.
Anthony Cowan Jr. chipped in with 15 points, including two clutch 3s in the closing minutes. The last of those long-range jumpers, hoisted as the shot-clock expired, made it 64-59 with 34 seconds left.
Maryland (7-1, 1-0) held on to secure a bounce-back victory following a 76-71 loss to No. 4 Virginia earlier in the week.
Coming off a 63-62 upset of No. 13 Virginia Tech Tuesday, the Nittany Lions (4-3) nearly knocked off another ranked team. They led 31-30 at halftime, erased an eight-point deficit in the second half and gave Maryland all it could handle on its own floor.
Penn State simply couldn’t handle the Terrapins’ inside game. Fernando and Smith were dominant in the paint, Maryland finished with a 40-28 rebounding advantage and outscored the Nittany Lions 18-4 at the foul line.
Fernando became the first Terp to notch three straight double-doubles since Jordan Williams in 2011.
Lamar Stevens (Haverford School All-Delco) scored 19 for Penn State, Josh Reaves had all
17 of his points in the first half and Rasir Bolton finished with 15.
Maryland went up 47-39 with
12:53 left when Fernando sent an alley-oop pass to Smith for a dunk. As he headed the other way down the court, Fernando raised his arms and waved his hands, asking the crowd of 15,481 to cheer the Terps on.
The enthusiasm waned when Penn State responded with a 9-0 run to move back in front.
Neither team could pull away, which was typical of this budding rivalry. Since Maryland joined the Big Ten, each of the seven games between the teams has been decided by seven points or less. GONZAGA 103, CREIGHTON 92 >> Zach Norvell Jr. scored 23 of his careerhigh 28 points in the second half, and top-ranked Gonzaga (8-0) wiped out an early double-digit deficit and beat Creighton (6-2).
(5) NEVADA 73, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 61 >> Jordan Caroline scored 22 points and Nevada took control with a dominant second half to beat Southern California (5-3) on Saturday and equal its 8-0 start from last season.
Tre’Shawn Thurman added 14 points and nine rebounds and Caleb Martin had 12 points for the Wolfpack, who outscored USC 3926 over the final 20 minutes.
(7) MICHIGAN 76, (19) PURDUE 57 >> Jordan Poole scored 21 points as part of a balanced offense and Michigan (8-0) was stingy on defense as it routed a third ranked team this season.
The Boilermakers (5-3) have lost three of their last four games.
(10) KENTUCKY 78, UNC GREENSBORO 61 >> Reid Travis scored 22 points, Keldon Johnson added six of his 13 points during a 14-2 second half run and Kentucky (7-1) won its seventh straight. MARQUETTE 83, (12) KANSAS STATE
71>> Markus Howard scored 45 points and went 19 of 21 from the foul line, and Marquette (6-2) used tight defense to hand Kansas State
(6-1) its first loss.
(20) TEXAS TECH 78, MEMPHIS 67 >> Tariq Owens had 13 points and
11 rebounds and tied a career high with eight blocks, Jarrett Culver scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and Texas Tech (7-0)rallied to beat Memphis (3-4)at the HoopHall Miami Invitational.
(21) BUFFALO 85, SAN FRANCISCO
81 >> Nick Perkins scored 22 points, Jeremy Harris added 15 with eight rebounds and Buffalo (7-0) held off San Francisco (7-1)in the title game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic.
C.J. Massinburg scored 15 points, making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 20 seconds to close out the win, and Montell McCrae added 11 points as Buffalo won the matchup of unbeatens to continue its best start since 1930.