Elijah Hawkins collected 10 points and nine assists as Minnesota rallied to a 65-62 victory over Maryland on Sunday in Minneapolis.
Cam Christie added 12 points, Dawson Garcia contributed 11 and Joshua Ola-Joseph added 10 as the Golden Gophers (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) beat the Terrapins for the first time since Feb. 22, 2017, snapping a 10-game losing streak in the series.
Jahmir Young led the Terrapins (9-6, 1-3) with 20 points and recorded eight rebounds, while Donta Scott supplied 14 points and six boards. Julian Reese pitched in 14 points and nine rebounds but was a non-factor for most of the second half dealing with foul trouble. He fouled out with 22 seconds remaining.
Maryland controlled most of the game before Reese sat after picking up his fourth foul with the Terrapins ahead 34-25 at the 16:50 mark of the second half.
The Golden Gophers engineered a 23-11 run as Reese sat, making 5-of-7 3-pointers to nudge ahead 47-45 when Reese checked back in with 8:15 remaining.
After starting 1 of 16 from 3-point range, Minnesota heated up from deep and pulled even at 40 on Hawkins’ trey before the under-12 timeout. Hawkins’ deep 3-pointer from the left wing with 8 1/2 minutes left capped the Golden Gophers’ run with Reese on the bench and propelled Minnesota ahead for good.
Hawkins’ slick pass set up Parker Fox for a two-handed jam that pushed the Golden Gophers’ advantage to 55-47 with 4:37 to go.
Maryland closed the deficit to 57-55 with 55 seconds left after Scott’s 3-pointer, but Minnesota made six free throws to seal the win.
The Golden Gophers made six 3-pointers compared to Maryland’s four and outscored the Terrapins 32-28 in the paint.
Maryland overcame 15 turnovers to lead 29-22 at halftime by outrebounding the Golden Gophers 23-12 and stifling Minnesota to 30 percent shooting, including a 1-of-14 mark (7.1 percent) from 3-point range.
Reese led the Terrapins with 10 first-half points, including six during a 14-0 run that surged Maryland ahead 23-12 at the 9:13 mark.
Braeden Carrington delivered the Golden Gophers’ lone triple and final field goal of the half that pulled them to within 23-20 with 3:40 remaining. Reese and Young each added two free throws during the Terrapins’ subsequent 6-0 run over the next two minutes.
Maryland finished the first half 10 for 22 (45.5 percent) from the floor and 7 of 7 from the line.
–Field Level Media
