Jahmir Young made a mad dash toward the opposite side of the court. Rutgers guard Jeremiah Williams was on the fastbreak and seemed destined for a transition bucket. Young sprinting back caught up with the redshirt junior and rejected the layup with his left hand.
Young’s block ended Rutgers’ increased momentum and sparked a 8-0 Maryland scoring run with just under 10 minutes left in the second half. Maryland men’s basketball (15-13, 7-10 Big Ten) beat Rutgers (14-13, 6-10 Big Ten), 63-46, Sunday afternoon in Piscataway.
Young’s block came after a 8-0 Rutgers run that cut the once 21-point Maryland lead to ten. The Terps were able to respond after the Young block and finish with a stress free final couple minutes.
Maryland’s offense played well, ending the game shooting 41% from the field and 32% from behind the arc. Four Terrapins finished in double figures. Julian Reese led the team with 20 points on eight of 11 from the floor. Jordan Geronimo ended the game with a double-double, scoring 11 points and securing 11 rebounds.
“I feel like that’s who Geronimo got to be,” said Donta Scott. “I feel like some guys don’t have their identities all the way and, you know, I feel like he’s stepping into his identity a little bit more.”
The Terps defense had the same level of dominance they’ve experienced all year. Maryland held Rutgers to 37% shooting from the floor and under 20% from three-point range. Aundre Hyatt was the only Scarlet Knight in double figures, scoring 13 points. Rutgers’ 46 points is tied for its worst offensive performance of the year with Penn State who also held Rutgers to 46 points earlier this season.
“Just watching the first five minutes the way we were defending the way we were passing the basketball, I just knew that we were going to kind of dominate this game,” said head coach Kevin Willard.
The game was the second meeting between the teams this season. Rutgers won the first game back on February 6 in College Park. The Terps scored just 53 points in the first meeting, losing 56-53.
The Terps seemed determined to improve from that performance scoring over half of their previous total in the first half of this game. Maryland ended the first half on a 10-0 scoring run that lasted a little over five minutes scoring 30 points in the half. Scott, Young, and Geronimo shared the scoring lead for Maryland with six points each.
The Terps held Rutgers to just 18 points and 31.6% shooting from the floor, through the first 20 minutes. The Scarlet Knights ended the first half on a six minute scoreless streak and their leading scorer from the first matchup, Mawot Mag, was held to just two points through the first half. Mag didn’t score another basket in the game.
“I thought our tone defensively, really, I think it surprised them a little bit,” said Willard.
The win breaks a two-game losing streak for Maryland and is Terps’ fourth road win of the season. The win helps in Maryland’s pursuit of a single bye in the Big Ten Tournament as well.
Maryland has three games left on its schedule all of which the Terps have seen before this year. The Terrapins return home for the next two games against Northwestern and Indiana, before ending the season at Penn State. The Northwestern game will be Wednesday at 7pm.
