The Maryland Terrapins, behind a career-tying 19 points from Baltimore guard Nick Faust, beat the N. C. Central Eagles, 70-56 on New Year’s Eve at Comcast Center.
With Maryland guard Seth Allen back in the lineup, the Terrapins overcame a slow start and in the second half consistently had a double-digit lead. They were able to empty the bench while ending their non-conference play on a two-game winning streak. The Terps are now (9-5) and will continue ACC play on January 4th when they meet Georgia Tech at Comcast Center.
A Faust three gave Maryland a 37-26 lead with 16:47 to play in the second half and the Terrapins never looked back. A runner and free throw from freshman Roddy Peters (7 points) gave the Terps a comfortable 51-35 lead with 11:28 to play and the rout was on.
The Terrapins appear to have gotten their groove back with Allen in the lineup. He led the team with four assists while scoring six points. But this day belonged to Faust. His three pointer gave the Terps their biggest lead of the game at 68-45 with 3: 19 left to play in the game.
The Terps defense was stellar on this last day of the year as they held Eagle’s star Jeremy Ingram, the nation’s third leading scorer at nearly 25 points per game, to 11 points. Ingram connected on only four of 19 shots. Maryland held the Eagles to a 32.7 shooting percentage from the field which included going only two for 15 on three point attempts.
The game got off to a sluggish start as both teams missed their first four shots. A jumper by Eagle Karamo Jawara (6 points) knotted the score at 14-14 but the Terps ended the half on a 14-6 run to take a 28-20 halftime advantage. Dez Wells did all his damage (10 points) in the first half to help his team gain a halftime lead.
The Terps overcame 16 turnovers by converting on 18 of 22 free throw attempts while improving on their season average of 63.8 percent.
The Terrapins also won the rebounding battle, hauling in 43 while the Eagles collected 28 boards. Faust again led the way with a season-high nine rebounds.
The Eagles second leading scorer in the game was Jordan Parks who finished
