Maryland’s win streak at home continues with Cowan’s career night
Zachary Wilson
Following their last second thriller against Indiana, Maryland headed back to The Xfinity Center to host the Iowa Hawkeyes in the conclusion of their regular season series. The Terps hoped to bounce back from their previous trip to Iowa, in which they were blown out by nearly 20 points.
Maryland fell on good fortune during the first half, with both Iowa forwards Luka Garza and Ryan Kriener getting two personal fouls each early on. They would both sit for extended amounts of time for the first 20 minutes, as Garza would only play 9 minutes in the first half. Despite this, UMD didn’t take quite the advantage many would expect, barely holding a lead as they entered the half on a promising 9-2 scoring run due to some key three pointers from Eric Ayala, Aaron Wiggins, and Anthony Cowan.
The Terps would keep things consistent in the second half to follow up on the strong start they had in the first. Despite having their FG percentage drop a few points, UMD kept their scoring up without significant droughts throughout the entirety of the last 20 minutes.
Darryl Morsell played his heart out on the defensive end against Iowa guard Joe Weiskamp, shutting him down completely in the second half and forcing him to 5-14 total shooting. It was also a career game for Anthony Cowan, who acted as a catalyst for all of MD’s offense, rushing to the basket consistently as well as nailing a dagger of a three point shot late, he finished with 31 points. Jalen Smith and Luka Garza battled all night, Garza still got his points but Stix carried the day.
With this revenge win against Iowa, the Terps improve their win streak to 3 and their conference record to 7-3. UMD will host another game on Tuesday against Rutgers, who are currently ranked #25 in the most recent AP poll.
Notable Statlines, The Good and The Not So Good:
The Good:
Anthony Cowan-This was by far Cowan’s best game of the year, notching in a season-high 31 points on an efficient 60% shooting. He would also dish out 6 assists and 6 rebounds, as well as making 10 of his 11 free throw attempts. His offensive leadership was enthralling here, keeping up Maryland’s pace on both ends of the floor and making key shots when UMD needed them most.
Jalen Smith-Smith had another double-double tonight with 14 rebounds and 18 points. What was impressive was his adaptation to his matchup against Iowa’s star forward Luka Garza. Despite struggling against Garza’s offensive post moves early, Smith would settle into his role and dominate scoring in the paint towards the end of the game. He would also add 5 blocks to his strong interior night.
Maryland’s Free Throw shooting-UMD was excellent from the charity stripe here, shooting 4-4 from the line in the first half and 19-22 in the second. Taking full advantage of the fouls they were given was an enormous factor in this affair, as MD would score 23 points on free throws to Iowa’s 14.
The Not So Good:
Not Taking Full Advantage Early-While this is a bit of a nitpick, there is a feeling that Maryland could have pressed their advantage down low to a much greater extent when Garza and Kriener were out. Maryland could have been up so much more at halftime had they pushed their mismatches down low, but their consistent play helped them win regardless.
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