A Second Half Surge Gives Maryland the Edge
by Zachary Wilson
Facing the start of another 2 game road trip, Maryland sought to end their 0-4 road game record with a win against Northwestern.
The start of this game would lead anyone to believe that UMD would continue their road losing streak, starting the game 0-5 from the field while trailing Northwestern 10-0. The Wildcats forced Maryland outside early, showing their knowledge of the Terrapins weaknesses in perimeter shooting.
Maryland’s bench would be the first ones to put up buckets for the Terps, as they would score all of UMD’s points in the first 10 minutes, besides some free throws. Despite above average performances from Serrel Smith Jr and Ricky Lindo Jr, Maryland would trail the entire first 20 minutes going to the locker room down 14 points.
It seemed like a season on the brink. Maryland would need a spectacular effort to climb out of the hole. And that effort is exactly what the Terps received.
In the second half Jalen Smith would put a career performance in the books, reaching a new career high 25 points and leading his Terps to the lead with 9:10 remaining. This would be Smith’s 3rd game in a row with 18 or more points. This half would see Maryland’s shooting go up by 20 percent, as well as shooting 50% from beyond the arc. Their defense would also hold strong here, taking the Wildcats shooting percentage from 60% in the first half to 39% in the second.
Now that the Terps have finally snapped that horrid road game losing streak, they now look forward in their schedule to play Indiana again to round out this road trip.
Notable Statlines, The Good and The Not So Good:
The Good:
Jalen Smith-As mentioned, Smith totaled a career high 25 points within this resounding comeback. He also added 11 rebounds and 2 steals with his 7-13 total shooting (not to mention a perfect 9-9 from the line).
The Not So Good:
Maryland’s First Half Offense-In another patented Maryland slow start, UMD would trail by 14 at the end of the first half. It truly was incredible that the Terps were able to overcome such a deficit but I doubt that this is something they would be able to replicate night in and night out.
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