Terps Get by Golden Gophers

The 22nd-ranked Maryland Terrapins remained unbeaten on the road this season, outlasting the Minnesota Golden Gophers 85-78 at Williams Arena.

After beating Rutgers 67-55 earlier in the week to improve to (18-2) their best start in 18 seasons, the Terps just kept rolling on to their sixth straight victory.

They got a monster game from freshman Justin Jackson who scored a career-high 28 points, making all five of his three pointers while leading the team with 10 rebounds.

Another freshman Kevin Huerter was also a beast making five of seven threes while scoring 19 points.

The game was almost over before it started as the Terps opened with an 8-2 start but Minnesota answered with a 19-1 burst making the score 21-9 with 9:15 to go in the first half.

But in a game of runs, Maryland responded with a 10-2 spurt, as Jackson made two threes making the score 23-19 with 6:42 to go before halftime.

The halftime score was 33-26 and the teams continued to battle in the second half with Minnesota continuing to hold on to the lead.

But that changed after Melo Trimble’s layup gave Maryland their first lead of the second half at 58-56 with 8:32 to play in the game.

The lead then seesawed back and forth and was tied at 76-76 with 1:47 to go.

Maryland then finished the game on a 9-2 run to secure the victory while improving to (19-2, 7-1 Big Ten) and a tie for first place with Wisconsin in league play.

Led by their freshman, Maryland exploded for 59 points in the second half shooting 65 percent while going seven for nine on threes in the second frame.

Maryland’s leading scorer Trimble was more of a distributor this game finishing with 13 points, nine assists, seven rebounds with no turnovers.

Freshman point guard Anthony Cowan contributed eight points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals while Ivan Bender was a spark off the bench with eight points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile, Minnesota played well shooting 53 percent from three point range while making 19 of 24 free throws.

They also out rebounded Maryland 41-31 including 14 offensive rebounds which led to a 19-7 advantage in second chance points.

The difference in the game was Maryland shot 51 percent from the field while holding Minnesota to 42 percent shooting from the floor. The Terps are second in the league in points allowed at 67 per game.

They also took Minnesota’s best punch early in a hostile environment called the “Barn” and they have learned how to close out games on the road.

Minnesota had five players in double figures led by Akeem Springs who finished with 23 points. Reggie Lynch added 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a losing effort for the 11th place (15-7, 3-6) Golden Gophers.