Rutgers Basketball snaps losing streak, defeats Maryland
Rutgers got back into the win column after defeating Maryland 68-57 at Jersey Mike’s Arena. The victory snapped its seven-game losing streak.
RUTGERS TURNS THE TABLES
After a brutal first half for both sides, Rutgers (10-15, 3-11 Big Ten) came out strong in the second with a 7-0 run to take a 34-27 lead with 17:48 remaining. The Scarlet Knights pushed it to an 11-2 run, going up 36-29 with 15:51 left.
Harun Zrno kept Rutgers’ momentum going with three straight made baskets, including back-to-back threes that put the Scarlet Knights ahead 42-34 with 13:53 remaining. Tariq Francis and Kaden Powers added back-to-back buckets to make it a 10-0 run and take a 12-point lead with 11:49 left.
The Terps used a 9-1 run to cut it to a 53-48 game with 6:33 remaining, but the Scarlet Knights were able to hold them off the rest of the way, including a 3-pointer from Francis that put them ahead 60-51 with 3:35 remaining.
Rutgers finished the game 22-for-53 from the field, led by Tariq Francis with 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Zrno added 13 points and five rebounds.
Maryland (10-15, 3-11 Big Ten) shot 22-for-66 from the floor, with Darius Adams scoring a team-high 13 points, along with six rebounds. David Coit contributed 12 points and five assists, while Solomon Washington had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
AN UGLY FIRST HALF
To sum up the first half: Maryland won an out-of-bounds challenge, only for Coit to try and run the baseline to inbound, giving Rutgers the ball back. However, Jamichael Davis couldn’t inbound the ball for a five-second violation, giving the Terps the ball back.
It was an ugly start for both sides as they went into halftime tied at 27 after Dylan Grant fouled Washington on an inbounds lob pass with 0.7 seconds remaining on the game clock. The teams also combined to shoot 3-for-22 from three.
Rutgers finished the half with just two more baskets than turnovers, going 10-for-29 from the field but committing eight turnovers, which led to 10 points for the Terps. Maryland matched its poor play, going 12-for-35 from the field with six turnovers.
Francis and Grant each scored seven points for the Scarlet Knights, while Davis had six.
Washington recorded seven points and eight rebounds for the Terps, while Adams had seven points and four rebounds.
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UP NEXT
Rutgers will return to action on Wednesday when it travels to Happy Valley to face Penn State at 6 p.m. (ET) on BTN.
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