Maryland ousts Minnesota in second round of Big Ten tourney
CHICAGO — Donta Scott scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half, Jahmir Young scored 14 of his 15 in the second and Maryland defeated Minnesota 70-54 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night.
The sixth-seeded Terrapins (21-11) advance to play third-seeded and 19th-ranked Indiana in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Scott made 6 of 13 shots with four 3-pointers, adding eight rebounds for Maryland. Young made just 3 of 13 shots but hit 9 of 11 at the free-throw line. Donald Carey had 11 points and Julian Reese pitched in with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Pharrel Payne scored 17 points off the bench to pace the Golden Gophers (9-22). He sank all six of his shots from the floor and all five of his free throws. Reserve Braeden Carrington scored 12 on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
Scott's scoring outburst led the Terrapins to a 31-24 lead at halftime. Scott had five of Maryland's 11 baskets and four of its six 3-pointers at intermission. Jamison Battle, the Golden Gophers' second-leading scorer at 12.8 per game, missed his only shot and his only free throw before halftime.
Maryland pushed its lead to 41-26 on Carey's 3-pointer with 17:23 left to play. Payne's three-point play pulled Minnesota within 45-37 at the 11:57 mark, and he had back-to-back buckets to get the Golden Gophers within 49-41 with 9:55 remaining. Jahmir Young answered with two free throws, Hart followed with a three-point play and the Terrapins' lead never fell below nine from there.
Maryland bounced back from a last-second 65-64 loss to Penn State in the Big Ten regular-season finale. Had the Terrapins held on for the win they would have been the tournament's No. 2 seed.
The Terrapins, who won every conference home game on their way to a 16-1 record, improved to 3-1 in neutral-court games this season. Maryland went 2-9 in true road games with its only wins coming against Louisville and Minnesota.
Minnesota beat No. 11 seed Nebraska 78-75 in the first round.