Terrapin Station
Fansided

Maryland Basketball: Terps Open Conference Play with a Loss

By Wesley Brown

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins reacts against the Richmond Spiders in the first half during the Barclays Center Classic at Barclays Center on November 25, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins reacts against the Richmond Spiders in the first half during the Barclays Center Classic at Barclays Center on November 25, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Maryland suffers an 80-75 loss to Purdue to open up their 2017-18 Big Ten schedule.

From the tip, Purdue and Maryland were polar opposites on both ends of the floor. Head coach Mark Turgeon said after the game, “we just weren’t ready at the start.” The Boilermakers were sinking almost every shot and playing with a fast tempo, while the Terrapins could not buy a basket.

Purdue was led by big man Isaac Haas, who had many NBA scouts in attendance. He did not disappoint, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and four blocks in 27 minutes of play. Turgeon spoke highly of Haas simply saying, “he’s a star.”

Maryland really only found themselves in the game late in the first half after a pair of threes, split between Anthony Cowan and Kevin Huerter

Boilermaker head coach Matt Painter simply explained their success by saying “we had a great first half”, which they truly did.

Purdue was shooting 65% from the field at halftime, compared to Maryland’s 33%. A combination of bad looks and just missed shots kept Purdue in the lead 43-37. No Terrapins were in double figures after 20 minutes of play.

The second half started off very well for Maryland as they managed to run back and claim the lead on a wide open Huerter three. It was short lived, as Haas went right down the floor and earned Purdue’s lead back.

Just a couple possessions later, Michal Cekovsky and Haas got tied up, resulting in a foul on the Terrapins. Mark Turgeon did not like that call, because he thought Haas was throwing an elbow. This outburst resulted in a technical for Turgeon, and gave the Boilermakers a 47-44 lead.

Purdue then went on a 9-0 run, which resulted in a Turgeon timeout. He spent a majority of his 30 seconds going off on an official, but no discipline occurred.

The Maryland team that struggled in the first half reappeared in the middle of the second frame, as Purdue climbed out to a 72-63 lead with just under four minutes left to play.

A nine point deficit is hard to fight with so little time, but Maryland fans found it irritating as Cowan walked the ball up the floor down six points with 1:22 running on the clock. Hope was fading for the crowd of 17,308 in attendance, and that simply did not sit well.

Cowan did have some tricks up his sleeve, as he scored a 4-point and a 3-point play to bring Maryland within three of Purdue. A steal gave them the ball back, and a missed three by Jared Nickens with 10 seconds left eliminated all hope for overtime.

Other than their poor shooting percentage, Maryland found themselves correcting some crucial mistakes they had been making so far this season. Coach Painter pointed to the Terrapins turning the ball over just seven times, and grabbing 16 offensive boards as part of this game that kept Maryland in it down the stretch.

The Terrapins fall to 6-3 on the year and will travel to Champaign, Illinois to face off with the Fighting Illini on Sunday for Big Ten Conference game number two.