Maryland Beats Illinois
The Maryland Terrapins rallied in the second half and held on to beat the Illinois Fighting Illini, 62-56 at State Farm Center.
Maryland was led by a career-high 19 points and team-best seven rebounds from freshman point guard Anthony Cowan.
It was his five free throws down the stretch that helped the Terps secure the victory while improving to (16-2, 4-1 Big Ten) good enough for first place in the conference.
The Terps defense also came to the rescue in the second half, holding the Fighting Illini scoreless for nearly eight minutes while they went on a 14-0 run turning a 43-39 deficit into a 53-43 lead with 7:38 to go in the game.
The rally was sparked by guard Jaylen Brantley who came off the bench to score 12 points, all in the second half, going on a 10-0 run all by himself. He also corralled six rebounds and had two steals.
Guard Melo Trimble had an off shooting night but still finished with 12 points five rebounds five assists and three steals.
It was his steal and layup right before the half that gave Maryland some second half momentum while cutting their halftime deficit to 32-27.
In their first meeting at Xfinity Center the Terps won big 84-59, but this game was more competitive and a tale of two halves.
Illinois shot nearly 50 percent in the first half while holding Maryland to three for 13 from deep before the break.
The Fighting Illini had their largest lead of the game at 27-16 with 4:41 to go before Maryland finished the half on a 11-5 run to close the gap.
Maryland turned the tables on the Fighting Illini in the second half, holding them to 24 points on 28 percent shooting from the floor including going four for 14 from long distance.
Maryland was 10 for 20 from the free throw line while Illinois was seven for 10 from the charity stripe.
The Terps won the points-in-the-paint battle 32-14 and the points-off-turnovers, 14-4.
Maryland’s bench outscored the Fighting Illini 21-7 led by Brantley and L.G. Gill who had six points and three rebounds. Maryland out rebounded Illinois 39-33.
Illinois was led by Maverick Morgan who finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Leron Black added 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds in a losing effort for the (12-6, 2-3) Fighting Illini who are in 10th place in the conference.
