Rutgers falls short at Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, MD. » Jalen Smith had 14 points and 15 rebounds, Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 17 and No. 9 Maryland used a strong second half to beat Rutgers 56-51 Tuesday night for its fifth straight victory.
The Terrapins trailed 25-20 at halftime after shooting 24%. With Smith leading the way, Maryland (18-4, 8-3 Big Ten) emerged from the break with a 14-4 run and held off a late surge by the Scarlet Knights to improve to 13-0 at home.
Three free throws by Cowan put the Terrapins up 52-49 with 2:12 to go. Myles Johnson answered with a dunk, but the Scarlet Knights did not score again.
Smith, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, notched his fifth straight double-double and blocked six shots. He had a 3-pointer and a threepoint play in succession to put the Terps ahead 34-29, and the margin swelled to eight points before Rutgers (16-7, 7-5) rallied.
Neither team shot well in a defensive struggle that featured several lengthy scoreless stretches by both teams. Akwasi Yeboah scored 13 for the Scarlet
Knights, who shot 34% and went 3 for 17 from beyond the arc.
Rutgers is 0-8 against Maryland since both teams joined the Big Ten in 2014.
Maryland went 7 for 29 from the floor in the first half, made only two baskets over the final 12 minutes and fell behind at the break despite holding Rutgers without a point over the final 5 minutes.
Smith had eight points and five rebounds in the opening seven minutes to stake the Terrapins to a 14-6 lead. But Maryland missed 14 of its next 16 shots and went scoreless for more than 7 ½ minutes while Rutgers went on a 19-4 run that included a trio of 3-pointers by Yeboah.
Cowan finally ended the drought with two free throws.