Maryland beats Gophers despite Battle's 39 points, 84-73

Mar 3, 2022, 04:33 am

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- — Hakim Hart scored 19 points to lead a balanced Maryland attack that withstood an Xfinity Center-tying 39 points by Minnesota's Jamison Battle for an 84-73 win over the Golden Gophers on Wednesday night.

Fatts Russell added 16 points, Eric Ayala 15 points and nine rebounds, Julian Reese 12 points and Qudus Wahab 10 for the Terrapins (15-15, 7-12 Big Ten).

Battle was 14-of-31 shooting, making 7 of 16 from the arc, to tie Maryland's Diamond Stone, who scored 39 against Penn State on Dec. 30, 2015. Payton Willis added 21 points for Minnesota (13-15, 4-11).

Maryland had a four-point lead at the break and stayed in front the entire second half.

A fast-break layup by Hart and a flagrant foul by Sean Sutherlin on the play resulted in a four-point possession for Maryland and when Reese added three more buckets in the 10-0 run the Terrapins suddenly had a 13-point advantage with 11 minutes remaining.

Battle scored Minnesota's first 14 points in the second half before Sutherlin hit a basket with 9:25 remaining, the first Gopher other than Battle to score since 4:15 of the first half. Sutherlin's bucket was part of a 20-9 run over the next seven minutes as the Gophers cut the deficit to two. But Ayala hit a 3-pointer and Hart added another in an 8-0 spurt to rebuild a 10-point edge with 1:25 remaining. Reese added six free throws from there.

Battle already had 20 points by halftime, but Maryland led 41-37. A 3-pointer by Xavier Green midway through the half gave the Terrapins the lead for good.

Maryland, which outscored Minnesota 46-16 in the paint, has won the last six meetings.

Minnesota ends the regular season at Northwestern, while Maryland finishes at home against Michigan State, both on Sunday.

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