Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith
celebrate Maryland's victory
MARYLAND- The Terps led for less than a minute in their Big Ten home-opener on Saturday at the Xfinity Center, but they came-back late for a 59-58 victory over Illinois, to improve their record to 10- 0.
Anthony Cowan hit a deep 3-pointer to tie the game with under 20 seconds remaining. After Illinois went down the court, Cowan stole the ball and was fouled. He sank the game winning free throw with 2.1 seconds remaining.
"We have to be better," Cowan said. "We obviously didn't play our best game. We're here to win a championship. This is a good win.”
Maryland got off to another slow start and trailed by 14 at the half. They still trailed by nine points with 4:33 remaining. Jalen Smith gave the Terps hope by knocking down a jump shot and then a 3-pointer, which cut the lead to four points.
Smith battled Illinois’ star center Kofi Cockburn and was stellar at both ends of the court. He had 14 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. He also smothered Giorgi Bezhanishvili, forcing big misses in crucial possessions in the final moments.
Cowan was also brilliant for Maryland. He scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and added seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Once again, with Maryland struggling he took over down the stretch.
While this was an important win for Terps, their schedule gets tougher with road games at Penn State and Seton Hall coming up. They will need play better to remain undefeated.
"The basketball gods were obviously on our side," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "It was kind of a miracle win. We weren't very good. I wasn't very good. And we weren't ready to play, and they were.”
Turgeon, known as a great recruiter called himself out after his team got off to another lackadaisical start against Illinois. He also failed to draw up a successful play late in the game, but was bailed out by Cowan’s clutch 3-pointer. Along with the team, Turgeon will have to step up for Maryland in their upcoming games.
Maryland’s defense gave them an opportunity but they need to play better offensively. They shot just 8-31 on 3-pointers, and so far have the second lowest 3-point percentage of all Big Ten teams.
Maryland’s 3-point shooting could make the difference in their next game as they look to end their three game losing streak in road games against Penn State.
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