No Fear In These Turtles! Fernando, Cowan Push Maryland Past No. 22 Indiana In Big Comeback Win
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Bruno Fernando had a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds, Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 24 and Maryland used a second-half surge to rally past No. 22 Indiana 78-75 Friday night.
The Terrapins (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) trailed by 14 points early in the game and by 10 shortly after halftime before storming back to earn their fifth straight victory.
Two of those wins came against ranked foes — then-No. 24 Nebraska and the Hoosiers (12-4, 3-2), who have lost two in a row following a seven-game winning streak.
Romeo Langford scored 28 points and Juwan Morgan added 14 for Indiana. The Hoosiers shot 12 for 28 in the second half and were outscored 51-40.
After Morgan made the first basket after halftime to go up 37-27, the Terps rattled off 16 straight points — taking their first lead of the game in the process.
Cowan and Darryl Morsell each contributed five points to the surge, and Maryland applied a tight zone defense to force Indiana into nine successive missed shots.
The Terrapins never lost the lead, in part because their only turnover of the second half came with 11 seconds left.
Fernando, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, made 11 of 12 shots from the floor to surpass his previous career best of 21 points.
Maryland star freshman Jalen Smith went 0 for 7 during a scoreless first half and finished with 2 points on 0-for-9 shooting, but he contributed 10 rebounds.
Indiana bolted to 9-0 lead and led 14-4 before Langford made his first basket, a long 3-pointer. Not long after that, the 6-6 freshman guard completed a three-point play to make it 28-14.
Fernando and Cowan then accounted for all the points in a 13-4 run that got Maryland to 32-27 before Aljami Durham drilled a 3-pointer for an 8-point halftime lead.
That proved to be no issue for the Terps, who improved to 5-1 when trailing at the break.
HURTS SO GOOD
Alabama backup quarterback Jalen Hurts watched the game with new Maryland football coach Michael Locksley.
Hurts entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal earlier this week and is checking out possible destinations. Locksley was the offensive coordinator at Alabama, so player and coach know each other well.
During the first half, when Locksley was shown on the scoreboard screen, many of the students shouted in unison, "We want Jalen!"
BIG PICTURE
Indiana: Though it's not necessarily an unusual occurrence in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are a completely different team on the road (1-4) than at home (10-0). After playing brilliantly at the outset, Indiana unraveled during a horrid second half.
Maryland: The young, inexperienced Terrapins appear to have grown up. Undaunted by an early deficit against a ranked and storied college basketball team, Maryland played lights-out over the final 19 minutes on both ends of the floor.
UP NEXT
Indiana: Hosts Nebraska on Monday night, the only meeting between the schools this season.
Maryland: Faces Wisconsin at home Monday night, the first of two games between the teams in a 19-day span.
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