It wasn’t pretty, but once again, Maryland men’s basketball didn’t need it to be.
The No. 9 Terps escaped with a 56-51 victory against Rutgers Feb. 4 in College Park, Md. In what head coach Mark Turgeon described as “a great college basketball game if you like defense,” Maryland mustered just 20 first-half points but still went into halftime with a chance. The Terps pulled ahead early in the second period and held on from there, locking down on defense when it mattered most.
Jalen Smith was his now-usual dominant self on both ends, tallying 14 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high six blocks. Anthony Cowan Jr. led the Terps with 17 points, while Darryl Morsell chipped in 14 of his own. Maryland shot 34 percent from the floor as a team and had two separate field goal droughts that combined for 17 minutes in length, but somehow still had enough.
