Musketeers knock down Terps

Trevon Bluiett scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the second half as No. 11 Xavier surged from behind to defeat No. 6 Maryland 76-65 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amway Center Thursday night.

The Musketeers (22-13) will play the winner of the late game between Florida State and Florida Gulf Coast Saturday.

“Once I get a couple to go in, then you get a little rhythm going, and then everything starts to fall in, and everything you shoot just feels good,” Bluiett said following his performance.

Both teams opened up ice cold from the field – going 1-for-13 in the first four-anda-half minutes of the game. Maryland managed to build an 8-5 lead with 14:16 left in the first half before Xavier rallied back with a 12-0 run to take a 17-8 lead at the 10:54 mark.

A Jaylen Brantley 3-pointer sparked a run that saw the Terrapins (24-9) roll off seven consecutive points to cut the lead to 17-15, but back-to-back 3-pointers by forward Kaiser Gates extended the Musketeers’ lead to 24-16 with 7:53 left in the half.

Both teams started to heat up, with Maryland going 5-of-6, and the Terrapins tied the game at 30 apiece with 3:49 left in the half.

Maryland added six consecutive points to take a 36-35 lead at the half.

The Terrapins picked up where they left off after the intermission, building Maryland’s lead up to as many as six points before Xavier scored seven consecutive points to retake the lead at 47-46. The Musketeers’

“Coach [Chris Mack] said we really weren’t playing like ourselves, like we’re supposed to be,” Xavier guard Malcolm Bernard said of the message to the team at halftime. The senior would finish with six points and six rebounds. “He tried to tell us to relax and play our game.”