Following a tip from striker Jairus Hamilton, Aaron Wiggins grabbed the ball in the air and ran across the court to find Darryl Morsell outside the painting area. The senior guard ran towards the bucket and got up to the beat to exalt the turtle bank.
It was his second big move in a row after scoring a crucial basket in possession of the previous ball, received by a loud exclamation and teammates surrounding him with five exciting ones. Rutgers had reduced the Maryland men’s basketball lead to six points with 7:37 remaining, but the senior guard led the attack to bring the lead back to 10 to put his team back in control.
The Terps stopped there, with their dominant performance continuing in the 68-59 victory, putting an exclamation point on the best stretch of the team of the season.
The last time these two teams met was in the first game of Big Ten Play, on December 14, in which Maryland suffered a 74-60 defeat. The defeat was the start of a 4-9 start at the conference for coach Mark Turgeon’s team, but things have changed dramatically since then.
Sunday’s victory marked Terps’ fourth consecutive season, with coach Mark Turgeon’s team defeating teams like Minnesota and Nebraska in a consecutive four-day series earlier in the week. Rutgers, a high caliber opponent, presented a steeper challenge and a real test of how much progress this team had really made in recent times. Maryland (14-10, 8-9 Big Ten) stepped up the task to bring a spot in the NCAA Tournament fully within reach, with three games remaining against the last players in the conference.
The Terrapin offense took some time to discover the Rutgers offense, allowing the Scarlet Knights to find some easy holes to look at while the two teams went back and forth to start the opening frame. But the Terps then forced Rutgers into a goal drought of almost three and a half minutes, allowing them to take the first advantage of the game by 16 to 14, with 10:46 to go until the end of the break.
Like the last time these two teams met, the first half was a comeback game to start. At the December meeting – Big Ten’s first game – Rutgers found momentum in the latter part of the semester to build a 10-point lead, although Maryland managed to regain a one-point lead in the interval.
But this time it was the sea turtle show, with the visiting team leading the way and then supporting until the end of the first half.
With just over two minutes left to go, Hakim Hart patiently examined the attack at the top of the key, looking for an opening. Eric Ayala made a quick cut to the right corner and Hart nailed it with perfect timing, allowing the junior guard to drain a triple. The bucket extended Terrapin’s lead to 28-18, ending a 9-0 run on four consecutive brands. Ayala scored 14 points in Sunday’s victory, building the biggest career high with 24 points last time against Nebraska.
But the main reason for the Maryland race was his blocking defense, which kept Rutgers without a field goal for the last 5:16 of the opening period, forcing the home team to make only one of the last 10 shots. The Scarlet Knights entered the interval with the lowest value of the season, 20 points.
The Rutgers’ drought continued in the second half, with Maryland holding the team without scoring for more than two minutes, making the goalless streak last for almost seven and a half minutes.
Shortly after hitting a triple to give the Terps the biggest advantage of the game (34-22), Aaron Wiggins intercepted a deep pass by Rutgers after a Maryland mistake. He immediately went to work after ruining the Scarlet Knight’s attempt to land a quick strike, finding Darryl Morsell with a perfectly placed jump pass. Morsell was fouled in the layup attempt and took one of his two shots on the line to increase Maryland’s lead to 13 points.
The Terps continued to show their improvements since the first confrontation while the second half continued, increasing their lead to up to 15 points.
Rutgers reduced that advantage to eight points thanks to four consecutive field goals, prompting Turgeon to request a timeout at 8:49 from the end.
The advantage fell to six soon after, with Rutgers receiving two marks on the line after an Eric Ayala foul. Maryland committed an offensive foul on the other side, putting the Scarlet Knights on the bonus for the rest of the competition.
But that would make no difference, with Terps returning to the driver’s seat after extending the advantage to 10 points. They kept the Scarlet Knights goalless on the field for 4:37, continuing to choke their opponent on the defensive end as they did all afternoon towards victory.
Maryland held Rutgers to make just 21 of his 55 shots (38.2%), including 22.7% deep, in the impressive win. The Terps also forced the Scarlet Knights to 15 turnovers, which they turned into 20 points. Five Maryland players ended with steals, led by three from Morsell.
Five Terps ended the contest in double digits. In addition to Ayala’s 14 points, Wiggins scored 13, while Morsell and point guard Hakim Hart scored 12. Striker Donta Scott scored 11 points and seven rebounds.
Three things to know
1. Terps have the possibility to finish above 0.500 in the Big Ten game. After a frustrating 4-9 start, it seemed certain that Maryland would end up with a record loss in conference games this season. The Terps had played with some of the best teams in the country, but there were glaring concerns. However, everything seems to be working out at the right time, with the team advancing to 8-9 with Sunday’s victory. With three games remaining against opponents like Michigan State, Northwestern and Penn State, Maryland has a real chance of finishing a game over 0.500 in the Big Ten game – something that seemed impossible most of the year.
2. Maryland smothered Ron Harper Jr. Terps ended Rutgers’ top scorer, who entered the competition with 27 points in the last clash with Maryland and averaged 16.0 points this season. Maryland refused to allow Harper Jr. to get into the rhythm from the start, keeping him with just four points in the first half, all from the free-throw line.
His first field goal did not come until the 2:27 mark of the second half, ending with just six points in 1 of 6 afternoon shots, marking his second lowest score this season.
3. Darryl Morsell had an injury scare. Maryland’s The senior leader has been dealing with shoulder problems for most of this season, but seemed to have aggravated on Sunday in a defensive rebound attempt. Morsell hobbled off the floor immediately, grabbing his right shoulder to the locker room.
He returned shortly thereafter with a sleeve over his injured shoulder, but showed no signs of any persistent pain for the rest of the race on the floor, allowing coach Mark Turgeon and his team to breathe a sigh of relief with their best defender back. His return paid off when he put the Terps back fully in control later.