Cowan Scores 31 as No. 15 Maryland Beats No. 18 Iowa 82-72
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Anthony Cowan Jr. scored a career-high 31 points, Jalen Smith had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 15 Maryland beat 18th-ranked Iowa 82-72 Thursday night to snap the Hawkeyes' five-game winning streak.
The Terrapins (17-4, 7-3 Big Ten) never trailed after halftime in the rematch of a Jan. 10 meeting that Iowa won 67-49 to launch its five-game run. With Cowan leading the way, Maryland won its fourth straight and improved to 12-0 at home.
Cowan moved past Walt Williams into 12th place on the Maryland scoring list with 1,716 points. The senior guard went 9 for 15 from the floor, 10 for 11 at the foul line and led the Terps with six assists.
Luka Garza scored 21 for the Hawkeyes (15-6, 6-4) and Joe Wieskamp had 17. Garza, the Big Ten's leading scorer, was in foul trouble throughout. He had two fouls in the opening five minutes and picked up his fourth with 7:55 remaining.
Maryland led 52-49 before a dunk by Smith, 3-pointers by Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins, plus two free throws by Cowan upped the margin to 13 points with 6:17 to go.
Although the Hawkeyes were coming off a spirited comeback win over Wisconsin, there would be no rally in this one.
Early on, Iowa looked sharp. The Hawkeyes made four of their first six attempts from beyond the arc and built an 18-12 lead.
It was 30-27 before Cowan fueled a 9-2 run with a 3-pointer and a jumper to put Maryland ahead 36-32 at the break.
Garza scored only six points before halftime on 3-for-6 shooting. He finished 9 for 19.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa: The Hawkeyes can't be too disappointed, given that no one has come to Maryland this season and gone away with a victory. Iowa might have fared better if Garza was on the court for more than 25 minutes.
Maryland: This is a big win for the Terrapins, who appear to have righted themselves after successive losses to Wisconsin and Iowa two weeks ago.
HONORING KOBE, WOOTTEN
Maryland asked the crowd for a moment of silence before the game to honor the lives of DeMatha basketball coach Morgan Wootten (who died last week), former Lakers star Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven others who died in a helicopter crash in California on Sunday.
UP NEXT
Iowa hosts No. 19 Illinois on Sunday, the first of two meetings between the Big Ten contenders.
Maryland is at home Tuesday night against surprising 25th-ranked Rutgers, which hasn't beaten the Terps since both teams joined the Big Ten in 2014.
