Jahmir Young scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half and his teammates took over in the second half as hot-shooting Maryland rolled past No. 21 Northwestern, 75-59, on Sunday in College Park, Md.
Don Carey scored 13 points while Julian Reese added 12 points and 10 rebounds as Maryland (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) won for the eighth time in its last 10 games and improved to 10-0 at home in the conference.
In their final home game, seniors Donta Scott scored 11 points and Hakim Hart added 10 points and seven assists, ending his afternoon with a celebratory fast-break slam in the closing minutes.
The Terps entered as the second-worst 3-point shooting team in the Big Ten but hit a season-high 14 treys in 22 attempts (63.6 percent). Maryland made 53.8 percent of its shots overall and moved into a second-place tie in the league with Northwestern (20-9, 11-7).
Chase Audige had 16 points to pace the Wildcats, but only two came in the second half. Brooks Barnhizer added 11 points and Matthew Nicholson had 10. It was the second straight loss for Northwestern after winning five in a row.
In a battle of two of the league’s top point guards, Young limited Northwestern’s Boo Buie to four points on 1-for-9 shooting. Buie was coming off a career-high 35-point performance in a 66-62 loss Thursday at Illinois. Buie did have eight assists on Sunday.
Maryland took control early in the second half as Scott, Hart and reserve Ian Martinez hit 3-pointers and Reese powered for a slam. It was part of a 14-5 surge that gave the Terps a 55-46 lead.
Later in the half, Carey hit 3-pointers to open and close an eight-point run that put Maryland up 67-51 with seven minutes left.
In a crisp first half that included nine ties and nine lead changes, Maryland made 61.5 percent of its shots and Northwestern clicked on 59.3 percent. Both teams committed just two turnovers.
The period was a shootout between Young, who scored 16 points, and Audige, who had 14. Both shot 6-for-9 in the half. Young’s fourth 3-pointer of the half beat the buzzer and gave the Terps a 41-39 lead.
–Field Level Media
