– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — In a see-saw second half, the home-standing Maryland Terrapins were able to enjoy the ride more in continuing their imperious home form in Big Ten Conference play.
The Terrapins used their eclectic mix of experience and youth, led by veterans Anthony Cowan Jr. and Bruno Fernando, in holding off the Ohio State Buckeyes 72-62 on Saturday afternoon to move to a perfect 8-0 at home in league play.
Cowan, the Terrapins’ point guard, had 19 points while the bruising Fernando went for 14 points and 10 rebounds inside as Maryland used a 13-0 run early in the second half to open up a 16-point lead early in the second half, then went on a 7-0 run late in the game — all of the seven points were scored by freshmen or sophomores — to finally put the game away after Ohio State fought its way back.
“Coach told us they’re going to go on a couple of runs,” Cowan said. “[He told us] to just keep our composure
and answer back with a run. That’s what we did, and ended the game on top.”
After Maryland opened up its 16-point lead, the Buckeyes answered with a 19-5 run, capped off by a three-pointer by Justin Ahrens, that cut the Terrapins’ lead to 57-55 with 5:27 remaining. Ohio State was never able to tie nor take the lead however, as Maryland’s youth put the game away afterward.
Freshman Serrel Smith Jr. made all three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt to extend Maryland’s lead to 60-55. Sophomore Darryl Morsell then came up with a steal and made both free throws after being fouled on his way to the basket. Over a minute later, freshman Aaron Wiggins had a dunk to open up Maryland’s lead to 64-55 with 2:48 remaining, and the Buckeyes never were able to cut the lead below six for the rest of the game.
“I’m disappointed with the way we played defensively during [Ohio State’s 19-5 run],” said Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon. “We made a lot of mistakes, weren’t alert, a soft foul for a three-point play. But you’d much rather learn in a win than learn in a loss and hopefully be better because of it.”
Ohio State (17-10, 7-9) played the game without guard C.J. Jackson, as it was announced before the game that he would miss the contest with a shoulder injury that he suffered in Wednesday’s game against Northwestern. Duane Washington Jr. led the Buckeyes with 15 points off the bench while Andre Wesson scored 13 points.
“Hopefully we will get [Jackson] back soon enough, but the other guys stepped it up and did a really good job,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with all photos taken by DC-Area photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 17 pictures in total.
