The University of Maryland Terrapins fell in a nail-biting 69-65 defeat against the Rutgers Scarlet Nights with only two more games left to play in the regular season.
The Terps started off slow, with Rutgers scoring the first few points of the game and leading for the entirety of the half. At the end of the first, Rutgers led by 19, stealing some of the hope for the Terps to stop the bleed.
Maryland came out determined in the 2nd quarter with Elijah Saunders and Andre Mills both scoring from beyond the arc and the Terps adding five free throws to the score board, going on a 13-0 run.
The Terps soared from there leading the score board 48-47 at the eleven minute mark. Both teams then fought for the lead for majority of the half with Rutgers up by one at the 1:18 mark.
From there, the Scarlet Nights got a chance to spread the lead after the Terps were charged five fouls in the last 30 seconds, leading Rutgers to secure the win.
Now Maryland is 4-14 and sitting at No. 17 in the Big Ten with limited time to establish another win. Although the Terps couldn’t grab the victory today, freshman Andre Mills had his 3rd explosive game, earning a double-double.
Mills scored 15 points and earned 10 rebounds building upon a three-week offensive rhythm. Elijah Saunders also secured a double-double making it his 4th in his career.
Head coach Buzz Williams expressed that he believes the numbers show his team had an opportunity to win but acknowledged the loss.
“We have to be able to play hard and play to the scouting report and be able to execute on it, Williams said. “We need to be able to do those two things fairly consistently.”
The Terps head back to Xfinity Center on March 8th where they look forward to facing the No. 10 University of Illinois.