Maryland Basketball: Terps whacked by Minnesota in stagnant fashion

After a disappointing collapse against Wisconsin on Sunday, the Maryland basketball team was looking to bounce back at home against Minnesota.

The effort was just the opposite as the Terrapins fell 89-75 at the hands of the Golden Gophers.

Forward Ivan Bender scored a career-high 15 points (7-of-10 shooting) and grabbed five rebounds. Bender was the only Terp to convert more than four field goal attempts.

The loss of Michal Cekovsky would be tested as the Terps learned. L.G. Gill was forced into the third center spot, and Minnesota went after him inside.

Akeem Springs would sink eight of Minnesota’s first 10 points, while Maryland had no answer on offense early. The Gophers would jump out to a 10-4 lead with Maryland’s offense struggling.

It took two three-point makes from Jaylen Brantley to give Maryland some confidence. These shots came as Springs took a seat even though he was on point.

Maryland fought back in the final four minutes with a dominant 10-0 run while also holding the Gophers scoreless for three and a half minutes. The home crowd was lifted by two, very rare, Ivan Bender dunks thanks to brilliant passing.

At the half, Maryland surprisingly only had three attempts from free throw line. All three foul shots were taken by center Damonte Dodd, so the 35-34 halftime lead could have been extended if Trimble’s drives resulted in foul calls.

After two extremely impressive outings, Minnesota stifled Trimble as he only had 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting. He also only had three attempts from the charity stripe.

Minnesota got off to a hot start in the second half. Springs picked up where he left off and hit back-to-back threes to give the Gophers a 40-35 in the first minute.

Maryland did manage to get back into the game rather quickly. Freshman guard Kevin Huerter connected from three with 17:34 left in the second half to tie the game at 42.

With 13:17, Bender converted a pair of free throws to give the Terps a 53-50 advantage. Just over a minute later, Minnesota’s Dupree McBrayer hit a three and a two-point jumper to put the Gophers up 55-53.

Minnesota would not relinquish that lead. Maryland would get it down to a two-point game at 61-59 with 9:10 to go, but ultimately, the offensive struggles were too much for the Terps to overcome.

Maryland then gave up the game with a 2-of-14 drought from the field in the middle of the second half. This allowed Minnesota to corral a 75-62 lead with 3:35 remaining in the contest.

Coach Mark Turgeon also gave his second technical foul in as many games.

It was a slow offensive night for the Terps. The freshmen trio of Anthony Cowan, Huerter, and Justin Jackson contributed 32 points, but only had 10 makes from the field between them.

Maryland shot just 25.9 percent (7-of-27) from beyond the arc, which didn’t help their cause. In addition, Bender was the only Terp with more than four field goals.

Next: Latest bracketology projections for the Terps

Maryland falls to 22-6 and faces Iowa at home on Saturday with the tip set for 6 p.m.