A tight, back-and-forth affair in the first half turned ugly quickly after the break, as Maryland pulled away from Nebraska and never looked back, defeating the Huskers 90-74 late Friday night.
Neither squad led by more than five points in the first half. What was a 42-40 Maryland advantage at halftime jumped to an 11-point lead less than three minutes out of the locker rooms. The 12-3 Terrapin run created separation that Nebraska (7-19 overall, 1-14 Big Ten) could not overcome. The closest the Huskers got on the scoreboard from there was seven. Maryland (12-14, 4-11) led by no less than double digits for the final 12 minutes.
“That’s where we lost the game, those first four or five minutes of the second half,” Husker head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “For us, we have to be perfect. Especially the starts of halves – we’ve been great the first five minutes pretty much all year, but that first five of the second half is an area where we’ve really struggled.”
Once again, freshman Bryce McGowens was the star for the Big Red, scoring 25 points on 5-14 shooting and 14-15 from the free throw line. Senior Alonzo Verge Jr. added 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists while struggling through foul trouble.
Maryland senior Fatts Russell, a transfer from Rhode Island, led a balanced Terps effort with 23 points. Six players scored in double figures for interim head coach Danny Manning, none of whom were Eric Ayala, their leading scorer at 15.3 points per game. Ayala played just six minutes in his return from injury.
While Nebraska’s shooting didn’t vary wildly from half to half, their defense did. After the Terps managed 47% from the field in the first half, they blitzed the Huskers defense to the tune of 59% in the second half.
While Maryland dominated inside all game long to the tune of 46 points in the paint, they turned up the fast break in the second half. The Huskers had no answer for 17 fast-break points, fueling the Terps’ 48-point second-half performance. What led to many of those fast breaks was NU turnovers.
“It was a very physical game today,” Bryce McGowens said while noting the 64 total free throw attempts. “But a lot of turnovers on our end got us out of our rhythm.” Nebraska lost the turnover battle 12-4.
McGowens led NU at halftime with 11 points. Kobe Webster five points and five rebounds off the bench, all in the first hallf. Walker also nabbed five boards, all offensive. Nebraska’s 6th man, freshman CJ Wilcher, scored seven of his ten points in the first half.
Junior Derrick Walker, who entered the game shooting 69.3% overall, shot just 1-5 in the first half and finished 3-8. He had only been held below 50% twice in Big Ten play before Friday, and just four times overall.
While Nebraska kept pace in the first half by getting to the line, they struggled to make shots. After hitting three consecutive triples, they did not make a field goal in the final 4:47 of the half. NU also went without a made basket for over three minutes early in the second half, allowing Maryland to push to their 11-point lead at 54-43.
Verge tried to spark the offense with a 3-point play, but immediately picked up his fourth foul defending the ball at midcourt.
Maryland freshman Julian Reese scored a career-high 13 points – all in the first half – but also instigated a tense moment in the second half. Reese was whistled for a foul while guarding Bryce McGowens, and both players fell to the floor. Reese then shoved McGowens in the chest, resulting in a technical foul. Reese continued to play for another minute before picking up his fourth foul and retreating to the bench. While the Huskers could have gained some momentum from such an incident, the game was already out of reach.
Nebraska will play just one more home game this season, next Friday against Iowa. They will first travel to Northwestern for a rematch with the Wildcats on Tuesday, then follow the Iowa Senior Night game with their final three on the road to close out the regular season.