Rutgers Basketball Snaps 7 Game Losing Streak Against Maryland
· Yahoo Sports
Rutgers basketball has snapped their seven game losing streak by beating Maryland 68-57. The game started as an ugly affair until the Scarlet Knights found some consistency on offense, allowing them to pull away from the Terrapins and secure the win.
After some solid passing on the first possession, Dylan Grant would put the first points on the board by hitting a mid-range jumper. Collin Metcalf would tie the game at 2 before Grant hit a three-pointer to retake the lead. After an exchange of buckets, the game would be tied up at 7 with 15 minutes left to play in the first half. Both offenses struggled early, as neither team broke into double digits until David Coit hit a layup on a fast-break after a Rutgers turnover with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half. Rutgers retook the lead after Chris Nwuli hit two free throws to give the Knights a one-point lead before Maryland hit a layup to take the lead right back. Both teams combined for 7 turnovers and 27 percent shooting with just over 8 minutes left to play in the half.
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Over the next three minutes, Rutgers would outscore Maryland 8-6, taking a 20-19 lead before Solomon Washington would throw down a dunk to make the game 21-20 in favor of the Terrapins. Rutgers would go on another run, started by a JaMicheal Davis jumper, before Tariq Francis scored 5 points to give Rutgers a four-point lead. Maryland would tie the game at 27 heading into the half due to a three-pointer and a last-second free throw shot from a penalty that occurred with less than a second left on the clock.
Emmanuel Ogbole would open the scoring in the second half with a dunk after he made a nice cut to the basket. Harun Zrno would follow up by hitting a three-pointer to extend Rutgers lead to five. Kaden Powers would push the lead to seven before Elijah Saunders broke up the run by hitting a layup for Maryland. The Knights held a 36-34 lead with 15 minutes left to play in the game before Zrno hit two three-pointers and Francis hit a jumper to extend the lead to 10. Rutgers pushed their lead to 11 with just under 10 minutes left to play in the game. Maryland’s shooting started to find some consistency with around six minutes left to play in the game, shrinking the Knights’ lead to five several times. Rutgers would answer every basket Maryland scored and then some to secure the 11-point victory.
Francis once again led the Knights in scoring with 21 points. He, along with Zrno, provided a much-needed spark to the Knights in the second half, allowing them to get going offensively. Ogbole had a good day rebounding the ball, grabbing nine total.
Rutgers had a better shooting percentage than Maryland across the board, shooting 42 percent from the field, 79 percent from the line, and 28 percent from three. After starting 1 of 4 on free throws, the Knights hit 18 of 20 to help lift them to a win.
Two areas the Knights struggled in this game were offensive rebounding and points in the paint, as the Terrapins scored 6 more points underneath the basket and grabbed 9 more offensive rebounds than Rutgers.
Rutgers will return to action on Wednesday when it makes the road trip to face Penn State at 6 p.m. on BTN.