In their first true test of the 2017-18 basketball season the Maryland Terrapins showed up and played a complete game, beating the Butler Bulldogs 79-65 at a blacked-out, boisterous and ecstatic Xfinity Center.
After two tune-up wins against Stony Brook and UMES, the Terps (3-0) took on the challenge of a more competitive opponent and they passed the test with flying colors.
They were led by guard Anthony Cowan Jr. who fresh off of a freshman year of mentoring by former Terp star guard Melo Trimble showed great poise and leadership both Trimble traits.
He set career highs in both points and rebounds with 25 and 10. He also hit the most important shot of the game and had five assists and one turnover.
Meanwhile, the defense was flying around all game and held Butler to 34 percent shooting from the floor including hitting only eight of 22 three-point shots.
The turning point in the game involved Cowan. With the shot clock winding down and Butler having cut the Terps lead to 61-56, He launched a long three-pointer which swished through the net and gave Maryland a 64-56 lead with 6:18 to go in the contest.
Freshman guard Darryl Morsell, who also had a fine game and scored 13 points, followed that up with a steal and a crowd-pleasing dunk which increased the Terps lead to 66-56 with 5:40 to go and from there Maryland was able to finish and secure their third straight win of the season.
Maryland guard Dion Wiley earned a rare start and was an early-game spark while hitting three of five three pointers and scoring 11 points and collecting three rebounds.
Terps sophomore guard Kevin Huerter was good and scored nine points, collected seven rebounds and had five assists.
Terp big-man Michal Cekovsky scored nine points including some rim-rattling dunks on assists from Huerter and freshman big Bruno Fernando was a real spark off the bench while passionately waving his arms and encouraging the crowd to get into the game. He finished with eight points and four rebounds.
Maryland forward Justin Jackson, who entered last year’s NBA combine but decided to come back for his sophomore season struggled with his offense but still contributed a team-high 11 rebounds, four points and two steals.
The game seesawed back and forth in the first half and a Cowan three gave Maryland a 23-20 lead with 9:16 to go in the first half.
The Terps increased their first half lead to 30-20 on a Huerter three-pointer with 6:06 to go before the break and the teams continued to trade baskets and Maryland finished the first half with a 42-35 advantage.
The Terps never trailed in the second half and a pair of free throws by Butler’s Aaron Thompson cut Maryland’s lead to 61-56 with 6:45 to go and setting up the exciting finish.
Maryland overcame 20 turnovers by shooting 57 percent from the field. They hit nine of 20 three-pointers and out rebounded the Bulldogs 40 to 27.
Maryland made 16 of 23 free throws while Butler was 11 for 11 from the charity stripe. The Terps had 14 assists, seven blocks and six steals.
Butler was led by Sean McDermott who had 17 points and Kamar Baldwin who scored 15 points. They were led in rebounding by Kelan Martin who had six while scoring 12 points in a losing effort for the (2-1) Bulldogs.
