Kevin Huerter led the Terrapins with 18 points and helped Maryland earn just its second road win all season, and end a seven game road losing streak.
The Terps early on looked to pound the ball inside and attack the basket and score in the paint.
Northwestern was coming into this game off of a disappointing 11 point second half last Saturday at home against Michigan State. Their shooting in the first half against the Spartans was just as hot as it was against Maryland again tonight.
The Wildcats raced ahead 9-2 after making their first three three-point attempts. They ended the first half shooting 8-15 from deep, a sight Terp fans are no strangers to seeing as opponents have seemed to light it up from deep all season against them.
Maryland twice came back in the first half and extended a lead to six points.
The Terps led 15-9 and 21-15 in the first half.
Maryland’s big men, Michal Cekovsky and Bruno Fernando, were a large part of the team’s early offense.
At halftime, Maryland had scored 16 of their 30 points in the first half from in the paint.
Cekovsky cleaned up on the offensive glass with three put-back dunks for six of his eight first half points which led the team.
Huerter and Fernando each scored seven points in the first half and the two of them plus Cekovsky accounted for 22 of Maryland’s 30 points at halftime.
Maryland led 28-27 before the Wildcats closed the first half on a 10-2 run. The Terps have struggled to close out halves strong for much of the season.
In the second half, it appeared Maryland was headed to yet another road loss.
The Wildcats expanded their seven point halftime advantage to as many as 11 in the first minute of the second half.
Fernando also picked up his third foul just two minutes into the half and Maryland appeared to be in trouble down double digits on the road with their starting freshman big man in early foul trouble.
A quick 6-0 Maryland run brought Maryland back to within three points as they began to chip away the deficit.
Coach Mark Turgeon employed a soft three-quarter-court press after made buckets which appeared to be just enough to take Northwestern out of their offensive rhythm even if it was not causing any turnovers.
Maryland was finally able to recapture the lead at 55-54 after Dion Wiley had back-to-back lay-ups.
A 16-4 Terps run ensued which was enough for Maryland to take a commanding lead late that was insurmountable.
The last Maryland road win came on December 3 at Illinois prior to tonight’s win in Rosemont against Northwestern.
With the win, Maryland improves to 19-11, 8-9 in Big Ten play, and has a chance to finish at .500 with a win this Saturday at noon when 17th-ranked Michigan will travel to the Xfinity Center for a noon tip-off game on ESPN.