Said Turgeon: “He was bad in the first half, wasn’t he? For him. We fed off of him [in the second half]. We just kept saying, ‘Go to Anthony.’ Our offense got better. We screened better. We moved better. We rolled harder. We just did everything better. Our passing was crisp and that really got him going. And when you’ve got a lot of good players around you, like we do, it opens up the floor for Anthony.”<doc-sep>Maryland started Monday’s game with energy and accuracy. The Terps took a quick lead with early threes from four different players. By the time Wisconsin took a timeout just after the half’s midpoint, Maryland led by 12. Wisconsin made just two of its 17 shots in the final 14 minutes of the half, but the Terps suddenly went cold, too. Neither team scored over the last 4:08 of the half, and Maryland took a 33-15 lead into halftime.<doc-sep>As much as Cowan admires Trimble and often speaks of how much he learned in their one season together two years ago, he wants to be known for what he has done. But as long as he keeps hitting critical shots and game-winners like that, he might have to live with the comparison.<doc-sep>The Wisconsin Badgers fought back from a dreadful first half start, eventually took the lead with about two minutes left, only to have their comeback cut short by Anthony Cowan and the Maryland Terrapins in a 64-60 road loss inside the Xfinity Center on Monday night. Cowan scored a game-high 21 points, including the go-ahead three with less than a minute remaining, along with six rebounds and three assists for Maryland (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten) in the conference victory. With redshirt senior forward Ethan Happ in foul trouble during the last 10 minutes of the second half, sophomore forward Nate Reuvers emerged with a career-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting with seven rebounds. He connected on four of eight three-point attempts, but had great looks on two shots from deep that did not go in with under a minute remaining. Happ scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while redshirt sophomore guard D’Mitrik Trice tallied 13 points, four rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Brad Davison also contributed 11 points with four assists in the loss for Wisconsin (11-6, 3-3). Overall, UW shot just 38.3 percent (23-of-60) for the game, 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from three-point range. Eric Ayala scored 11 points with three three-pointers, while forward Jalen Smith recorded 11 points and seven rebounds in the win. Sophomore forward Bruno Fernando fought off the Wisconsin defense to score 10 points while also registering four rebounds. Maryland as a team connected on just 34 percent of its field goals (16 of 47) but made 50 percent of its attempts from deep (eight of 16). The Terps also converted on 24 of 29 free throws, including making 18 of 22 in the second half. Wisconsin struggled immensely in the first half, one that echoed its early January home loss to Minnesota. It shot only 26.9 percent (7-of-26) and did not make a three-pointer in eight attempts in those first 20 minutes while also committing seven turnovers. The Badgers simply could not get anything going offensively, going for stretches of 6:56 and 4:08 without a point in that first half. For that matter, Maryland did not look necessarily great as well—shooting just 39.3 percent (11-of-28) and not scoring in the last 4:30. However, the Terps connected on five of 10 three-point attempts. Starting off the second half, Maryland would go up by as much as 21 points after an Ayala three-pointer with 17:47 remaining, but Wisconsin began to whittle down the deficit—clawing back to as much as 13 points after a Happ flush at the 11:29 mark. Officials called Happ for his fourth foul with 10:38 remaining, however, but Reuvers decided to take over the game for a stretch. Down 18 after two Fernando three throws, the sophomore forward scored eight straight points—including two three-pointers—to cut the lead to 10 at the 8:12 mark. Maryland helped UW get back into the game by shooting just 26.3 percent in the second half. On the flip side, the Badgers came alive from deep, hitting 11 of 22 from three-point range and shooting 47.1 percent (16-of-34) in those final 20 minutes. Wisconsin eventually cut the deficit to single digits, then went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 57-57 as Reuvers hit his fourth three-pointer of the game with 3:09 remaining. Maryland then went up two with a couple of Cowan free throws, but Davison’s three with just over two minutes left gave Wisconsin a 60-59 lead—its first advantage since a 4-2 score early in the game. Both teams did not capitalize on their ensuing respective possessions, but with 44 seconds left, Cowan drilled a deep three-pointer to give the Terps a lead once again at 62-60—one it would not relinquish. After shooting so hot for most of the second half, Reuvers missed a three-pointer on Wisconsin’s next possession with 33 seconds remaining. Davison fouled Darryl Morsell, who hit only one of two free throws. After some great defense from Maryland, Happ called a timeout with about 11 seconds remaining. The Badgers eventually found that wide open shot they were looking for with three seconds left, but Reuvers could not connect from three-point range to tie it up. With about a second left, Cowan hit one of two free throws to seal the win for Maryland. Wisconsin now will head back to Madison and prepare for one of the best teams in the nation, No. 2 Michigan, in a Saturday morning match-up at the Kohl Center.<doc-sep>
ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 16: Melo Trimble #2 of the Maryland Terrapins reacts after being defeated by the Xavier Musketeers 76-65 in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amway Center on March 16, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) Maryland Basketball jumped out to a hot start, then held off Wisconsin to improve to 15-3 on the season. The newly ranked Maryland Terrapins started the game on a 12-0 run against the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin didn’t get it going offensively until halfway through the second half, and by that time it was too late. Maryland’s general athletic frame was too much for Wisconsin to handle. They disrupted the passing lanes and played good on-ball defense. Wisconsin struggled to score until the last 10 minutes of the game. When they started streaking, however, it didn’t stop. Ethan Happ exited the game with 4 fouls around the 11-minute mark, then substitute Nate Reuvers caught fire from deep. Reuvers scored all of his 18 points in the second half, which effectively jump-started the Badgers run. Anthony Cowan Jr. led the way down the stretch for the Terps as they barely held off Wisconsin. Cowan scored 20 points to lead all scorers. Bruno Fernando was a huge factor in the first half but struggled in the second half due to foul trouble and Greg Gard’s new gameplan. Fernando finished with 10 points, and only four rebounds while getting whistled for four fouls. Ethan Happ only had 10 points as well, but he collected eight rebounds. However, Happ also struggled with fouls as he got called for four. The story of the game early on was that Wisconsin couldn’t hit a shot to save their life. When Happ left the game halfway through the second half, Reuvers caught fire and helped Wisconsin not only come back, but take a 60-59 lead with only a few minutes remaining. D’Mitrik Trice, who shot 5-14 from the field for 13 points hit some timely shots, and Brad Davison did what he does best, which is being a pest at the right times. Despite a fantastic comeback effort from Wisconsin, Maryland hung on for a huge victory. The young Terps fought through adversity and improved to 15-3. They don’t have a terribly difficult schedule coming up, excluding their road game in East Lansing. If Maryland can get to that 19 or 20 win mark, then they can secure their spot in the NCAA tournament pretty early in conference play. Meanwhile, for Wisconsin, they’re now 11-6 and are in a bit of a rut. They have to go on a run now to try and secure an NCAA tournament spot without having to win a couple games in the Big Ten tournament. The rematch for these two teams will be on February 1st in Madison, Wisconsin.