In Maryland men’s basketball’s lone conference wins, it has relied on standout performances from its guards. Diggy Coit, in particular, has dropped a combined 72 points in those games to lead the Terps to victories over Penn State and Minnesota.

But in Wednesday’s contest against Iowa, it was Andre Mills who shouldered Maryland’s scoring load. 

After a disastrous start to Big Ten play — he reached double-figures just twice in the Terps’ first nine games — Mills has turned the tide with a strong recent stretch of play. However, his production reached a new high in Maryland’s second meeting against the Hawkeyes. Mills finished with 24 points.

Behind his career-high night, the Terps pulled off an improbable 77-70 win over Iowa. Maryland has now won its past two contests and secured its first home win in nearly a month.

“Momentum is a big thing. We’re going to focus on the next games coming up, just trying to get another win,” Darius Adams said. “I think these last two wins have been very big for us, just getting our confidence up.”

The Terps’ first ten games of Big Ten play — highlighted by the 43-point loss to Michigan State — showed almost no bright spots on what was ranked the lowest power conference team according to the NET. 

Since then, Andre Mills has become the bright spot for Maryland. The redshirt freshman has been aggressive offensively and efficient in doing so.

Mills shot 53.8 percent from the field in Maryland’s last three games entering Wednesday. He dropped 41 combined points during that stretch and scored double figures in every contest.

His recent success carried over. Mills scored 11 of the Terps’ first 21 points and was the first player to reach double-digits. He did so just over 13 minutes into the game. Mills nailed a pair of first-half triples and got to the basket with ease.

“[Andre’s] energy is just infectious,” Collin Metcalf said. “As soon as he gets going, the rest of us, we see it, we start clicking.”

Alongside Mills’ stellar play, fellow freshman Adams has been a consistent scorer for Maryland. Adams is the Terps’ second-leading scorer, averaging 11.7 points per contest. 

The 25.5% three point shooter drained a three-pointer on Maryland’s third possession, but took a backseat to an offensive takeover by Mills. Adams finished with 11 points on just seven shots.

Still, the young duo combined for 21 first-half points to aid the Terps’ 37-32 halftime lead. Coit contributed seven points as well. Those three guards totaled 75.7 percent of Maryland’s scoring load in the opening half.

While the Terps’ backcourt found success offensively, the team’s overreliance on three-pointers limited them to just a five-point lead.

Maryland entered the night as the third-worst three-point team in the Big Ten, shooting just 32.1 percent from behind the arc. Despite their inability to knock down shots from the perimeter, the Terps have still jacked up at least 20 attempts in all but one game this season.

That remained the theme early on against Iowa. Maryland’s first eight shots came from three-point range, and it nailed just two of them. But once the Terps attacked the paint, they began to pour it on offensively.

Despite its surge midway through the first half, Maryland’s defensive struggles persisted. The Terps couldn’t slow down Bennett Stirtz.

After torching Maryland for 25 points in the previous meeting, he outdid that performance on Wednesday. He finished with a game-high 32 points and punished Maryland when he was left open.

The Terps’ young stars continued to shine in the second half. Adams weaved his way through traffic for a pair of tough buckets to score Maryland’s first four points.

“We’ve been working on two-foot layups, playing off two feet and being strong with the ball,” Adams said. “We’re just playing off each other. … We’re together every day after practice so just being competitive with each other.”

But the Hawkeyes’ early run trimmed their deficit to just one. 

That cued Mills to take back over. He got downhill with speed and drew contact. Even without the ball, Mills’ impact was still felt. He crashed the glass with authority for three offensive boards, finishing off an impressive second-chance layup.

“Those guys put pressure on the rim off the bounce,” Williams said. “I thought [Andre’s] job on the offensive glass tonight. For those two guys [Andre and Darius] to get eight rebounds for us combined on both sides of the ball. I think they realize how physical it has to be.”

Maryland’s inability to make free throws allowed Iowa to hang around, though. The Terps shot just 19-of-28 from the charity stripe. However, a pair of clutch free throws allowed Maryland to ice the game.

Five Terps finished in double figures for the first time in Big Ten play. Coit added 19 points, Elijah Saunders chipped in 12 points and Solomon Washington scored 10 to support Maryland’s young duo.