from umterps.com
Bruno Fernando had 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Maryland took down Rutgers 61-51 in front of a spirited crowd Saturday night.
The Terrapins (18-11, 7-9 Big Ten) scored the game’s first 10 points, led 31-19 at halftime and opened the second half with another 10-0 run to pull away.
Fernando led the charge with a dominating performance on both ends of the court. The 6-foot-10 freshman made several rim-shaking dunks and was assured his third career double-double with 19 minutes remaining.
The high-spirited Fernando added some spice to the second half by drilling his first career 3-pointer to make it 55-36.
A 10-0 burst by Rutgers cut the gap to 55-46 with four minutes left, but the Terrapins easily thwarted the comeback bid.
Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 14 and Kevin Huerter added 11 to help Maryland improve to 15-2 at home.
Former Maryland basketball greats Melo Trimble and Jake Layman were in attendance, and were introduced as the honorary captains of the game, earning a standing ovation from the Maryland crowd.
Rutgers (13-16, 3-13) has lost 8 of 9 overall and is 0-8 on the road.
Eugene Omoruyi scored 11 for Rutgers. Corey Sanders, the team’s leading scorer, was limited to 6 points on 3-for-14 shooting.
The Scarlet Knights missed three shots and committed three turnovers on their first six possessions, and a dunk by Fernando capped a game-opening, 10-point surge that put the Terrapins ahead for good.
It was 21-14 before Cowan made three driving layups in an 8-1 spree that restored Maryland’s double-digit lead.
In the second half, two baskets by Fernando and 3-pointers by Cowan and Dion Wiley made it 41-22.
Maryland will have a rematch with Northwestern on Monday night after the Terps earned a 73-57 win over the Wildcats on February 10.
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