Donta Scott scored 18 points and Jahmir Young added 15 points and five assists as No. 22 Maryland blitzed host Louisville early and cruised to a 79-54 victory in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night.

Maryland (7-0) never trailed, racing to an early 14-point advantage. Then, early in the second half, the Terrapins hit the Cardinals with a long-range assault to establish a lead that Louisville never challenged.

The Cardinals (0-7) got 15 points from El Ellis as they matched a seven-game losing streak from last year, which was their longest single-season skid since the 1940-41 season.

Maryland shot 50 percent from the floor, making 9 of 24 tries from beyond the arc (37.5 percent). Louisville made 33.9 percent of its shots, including 4 of 16 from distance (25 percent). Of Louisville’s 19 field goals, only six came by way of assist.

Maryland leaned on its defense as it surged to the lead in the opening minutes with a 13-point run. The Terps forced five turnovers and held the Cardinals scoreless over a span of 5:01.

Young touched off the spurt with a pull-up jumper and further fueled it with two steals and a layup. Hakim Hart, who finished with nine points, scored four points in the spree and Ian Martinez (10 points) finished it off with a 3-pointer that put Maryland up 18-4.

Louisville emerged from its funk and carved into Maryland’s lead. A 3-pointer by Ellis late in the half sliced the deficit to 32-24.

But in the first 3:28 of the second half, the Terps hit all five of their attempts from beyond the arc, including two apiece by Scott and Donald Carey (nine points), as they pushed their lead to 52-32.

Even with reserves on the floor, Maryland kept pouring it on. Noah Bachelor highlighted a 10-point Terps run with a three-point play that pushed the lead to 31 points.

When Cardinals reserve Fabio Basili drained a 3-pointer with 5:30 left, it ended a 5:34 span without a field goal for Louisville.

–Field Level Media