Three Maryland men’s basketball players scored in double figures as the Terps defeated Minnesota, 77-71, on Jan. 13 to string together back-to-back wins.
Freshman Derik Queen (career-high 27 points), sophomore Rodney Rice (21) and junior Ja’Kobi Gillespie (15) led Maryland to the victory, which pushed the Terps to 13-4 on the season and 3-3 in the Big Ten.
“I think Derik wasn’t happy with the way he played against UCLA,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said, referring to Queen’s eight-point performance against the Bruins on Jan. 10. “He came out with a little bit more focus and a little bit more energy on the offensive end. I think sometimes the game comes so easily to him on the offensive end that he gets a little lackadaisical. I thought he came out tonight with very good positive energy and that he was going to be aggressive.”
Just like the chilly weather, Maryland was cold from the floor in the first half. The Terps struggled to knock down shots, meaning they had to play from behind for much of the half. Maryland shot 40 percent from the floor and 3 of 12 from 3-point range. Minnesota, on the other hand, shot 50 percent from the field and 5 of 9 from deep.
“We talked about making sure they didn’t get hot from the 3-point line and we gave up three straight threes to start the game and it kind of just got us on our heels,” Willard said. “… I thought we were a little off-tilt offensively and missed some easy buckets.”
Maryland built an early 14-6 lead, but Minnesota went on a 15-2 run to take a 23-16 lead with about nine minutes left in the first half. Dawson Garcia (12 first-half points) and Isaac Asuma (10) helped Minnesota control the rest of the half, even with a slight surge from Maryland, to go into the break up 35-32.
Garcia finished the game with a team-high 21 points and seven rebounds.
“I just think Dawson is one of those young men who’s been in this league and knows he’s going to get double-teamed and knows he’s going to have everyone throw everything off him and every night he gets 20 [points] and eight [rebounds],” Willard said. “He’s an extremely talented player, plays hard, physical and he’s a problem for everybody.”
However, Maryland returned the favor in the second half. As always, it’s a game of runs, and for a second consecutive game Maryland opened the second half with good energy and better basketball.
The Gophers were only able to hold off the Terps for a few minutes before Maryland went on a 19-6 run to build a 54-48 lead.
Minnesota did briefly cut the lead to 54-52 after Garcia hit four free throws across two possessions, but it was not enough to halt the momentum of Maryland, and as the crowd got into it, there was no looking back for the Terps.
Maryland built its largest lead of the game (11) with an 11-4 run to bring the score to 68-57. The Terps controlled the game from there to clinch back-to-back conference wins for the first time this season.
Maryland also shot better in the second half, shooting 56 percent (14 of 25) from the floor while holding Minnesota to 34 percent (10 of 29).
“In the second half, when you score 45 points you’re able to press a little bit more effectively and even though we didn’t create turnovers we were able to get them out of their offense and not let them run things so smoothly,” Willard said.
Gillespie vowed the Terps “will be better next game.” The Terps will travel to face Northwestern on Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. for their next matchup.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox