Resurgent Terrapins hand Boilermakers another loss

TOP 25 MEN MARYLAND 68, NO. 3 PURDUE 54

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland’s Kevin Willard walked away from a Thursday morning film session with little doubt his team would upend No. 3 Purdue less than 12 hours later.

Then his Terrapins went out and proved the first-year coach prophetic, unleashing a dominant stretch in the middle of the second half to rally past the Boilermakers 68-54 and deal Purdue its second consecutive loss.

Students stormed the court — and one even climbed onto a basket — after Maryland earned its fourth victory of the season over a ranked team. Exactly 10 years earlier, fans rushed onto the same court after Maryland beat then-No. 2 Duke.

“I knew we were going to win,” Willard said. “This was not a surprise to me. This is an unbelievable program. It’s one of the best programs in the country. I thought it was important for the fanbase and it was important for the students to just understand what this program is really all about.”

Jahmir Young scored 20 points for the Terps (18-8, 9-6), who trailed 37-29 before erupting on a 29-4 burst to take control. Hakim Hart added 13 points for Maryland, which defeated a top-three team for the first time since toppling then-No. 3 Iowa 74-68 on Jan. 28, 2016.

Maryland improved to 14-1 at home this season and continued its resurgence after going 15-17 last season, the program’s first losing season since 1992-93.

Zach Edey and Braden Smith both scored 18 points for Purdue (23-4, 12-4), which has lost three of four — all on the road.

In other Top 25 games Thursday, Marcus Sasser scored 20 points, freshman Jarace Walker added 14 and No. 2

Houston cruised to an 80-65 victory over SMU in Dallas. With a win at home over Memphis on Sunday, the Cougars (24-2, 12-1) could be in line for their third stay atop The Associated Press Top 25 poll this season after losses by No. 1 Alabama and third-ranked Purdue, which has dropped three of four. … Mitchell Saxen had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Aidan Mahaney added 13 points for the No. 17 Saint

Mary’s Gaels, who didn’t score in the last 7:05 but held off hobbled but determined

San Diego 62-59 for their 14th win in 15 games. The Gaels (23-5, 12-1), who continue to lead Gonzaga atop the WCC with three games to play, went ahead 54-31 on a three-pointer by Mahaney with 14:17 left but let the Toreros slowly get back into the game. The Gaels missed their final seven field goal attempts. … Camryn Weston scored 16 points, Elias King added 15 and

Middle Tennessee beat No. 25 Florida Atlantic 74-70 for the Blue Raiders’ first win over a ranked opponent since 2016. Middle Tennessee (16-11, 9-7) avenged an 85-67 loss to then-No. 21 FAU on Jan. 26 in its first home game against a ranked team since the 2008-09 season. Middle Tennessee’s previous victory over a Top 25 squad came on March 18, 2016, against No. 2 Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Raiders led 56-41 with 10 minutes left as FAU (24-3, 14-2) made just four of its first 12 shots after halftime.

WOMEN’S TOP 25

In women’s Top 25 action Thursday, Zia Cooke scored 22 points and No. 1 South

Carolina won its 32nd consecutive game, 87-56 over Florida. The Gamecocks (260, 13-0) showed no hangover from their 88-64 win over then-third-ranked LSU this past Sunday and moved a step closer to their seventh regular-season league title under Coach Dawn Staley. … Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore each scored 20 points and No. 11 Virginia Tech beat No. 9 Duke 61-45. Taylor Soule added 11 points for the Hokies (21-4, 11-4), who have won five in a row and eight of their past nine. Virginia Tech has beaten ranked opponents in three consecutive games for the first time in school history. Celeste Taylor scored 12 points for the Blue Devils (22-4, 12-3). … Olivia Miles made a fadeaway jumper from just inside the three-point line at the overtime buzzer and No. 10 Notre Dame beat Louisville 78-76. Miles finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as Notre Dame (21-4, 12-3) ended a six-game losing streak to Louisville. … Cotie McMahon had 17 points and 11 rebounds and No. 13 Ohio State beat Penn State 67-55. Rikki Harris had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals for Ohio State (22-5, 11-5) and Taylor Thierry scored 13 points. Makenna Marisa scored 22 points for Penn State (13-13, 4-11) and Leilani Kapinus had 10 points and 11 rebounds. … Ta’Niya Latson scored 19 points as No. 24 Florida State beat

Syracuse 78-65 to end a two-game skid. Makayala Timpson scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds with three blocks for the Seminoles (21-7, 10-5), who closed the game on an 11-0 run.