Maryland men’s basketball defeated Penn State, 96-73, on Sunday, Jan. 18.
Maryland (8-10, 1-6 Big Ten) secured its first conference win and snapped a four-game losing streak behind a dominant performance from graduate guard Diggy Coit.
Coit scored 30 points in the first half before finishing with 43, coming one point short of Ernie Graham’s single-game record set in December 1978 against NC State.
“I did not know,” Maryland head coach Buzz Williams said of the record. “I haven’t memorized all the numbers about the history. I know some of them. I could tell a little bit by the environment that something must have been happening.”
Despite the scoring outburst, Coit wasn’t forcing shots. He finished an efficient 14 of 23 from the field, including 9 of 15 from 3-point range.
“I knew, but I wasn’t chasing it,” Coit said of the record. “[My teammates] would’ve let me take every shot. [Penn State was] being physical and they were being aggressive. It was getting chippy, so I just thought it was smarter for me to not do that.”
With multiple chances to break the record with time winding down, Coit instead found open teammates, allowing them to join in on the fun. The Terrapins knocked down 18 threes, setting a new single-game program record.
This marks Coit’s fourth game this season scoring 30 points or more. Most recently, he scored 30 in an 88-71 loss to USC on Jan. 13. The dynamic effort from the Kansas transfer was no surprise after he opened the game by scoring 11 of Maryland’s first 16 points.
“He has video game tendencies,” Williams said. “He has an ability to score at [5-foot-11 and 180 pounds] which is uncommon. He can gain space because he has always played as an undersized guard. His ability to make shots, particularly off the dribble, is rare.”
For a moment, it seemed Maryland might have another disappointing performance after allowing Penn State to start 4-of-4 from the field. But a 9-0 run gave the Terrapins a 13-9 lead, and they never looked back.
Maryland’s lead continued to grow behind two 10-0 runs and an 8-0 spurt capped by a buzzer-beater from freshman guard Darius Adams, sending the Terrapins into halftime up 56-26.
However, the momentum briefly shifted to start the second half. Penn State opened with a 25-5 run, stunning fans as a 30-point lead was cut to 10 at 61-51.
“If we were to diagnose that run, it would be the exact opposite of why we were on that run in the first half,” Williams said. “Were we taking as we define great and perfect shots? We played with a high turnover rate. How many one-pass threes did we give up? So I’m not asking our guys to play perfectly, but we’re just trying to create more awareness of what we learned over the last three weeks of what has caused us strife.”
Maryland stayed composed, and Coit stayed hot. A 22-9 run put the game out of reach as the Terps rebuilt their lead to 90-67.
Maryland now prepares for a tough stretch, facing three ranked teams in a row, starting with No. 13 Illinois on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox