Young's 20 help Maryland surge past No. 3 Purdue 68-54
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Jahmir Young scored 20 points and Maryland used a dominant stretch in the middle of the second half Thursday night to rally past No. 3 Purdue 68-54 and deal the Boilermakers their second consecutive loss.
The Terrapins (18-8, 9-6 Big Ten) trailed 37-29 before erupting on a 29-4 burst to take control.
Hakim Hart added 13 points for Maryland, which defeated a top-three team for the first time since toppling then-No. 3 Iowa 74-68 on Jan. 28, 2016. Maryland improved to 14-1 at home this season.
Students stormed the court --- and one even climbed onto the basket --- after Maryland earned its fourth victory of the season over a ranked team. Exactly 10 years earlier, fans rushed onto the same court after Maryland beat then-No. 2 Duke.
Zach Edey and Braden Smith both scored 18 points for Purdue (23-4, 12-4), which has lost three of four --- all on the road.
The Boilermakers seemed headed for a bounce-back from Sunday's 64-58 loss at Northwestern when it took an eight-point lead in the second half. But after a possession after a basket by Young, Purdue forward Mason Gillis was called for a foul and then was assessed a technical foul for arguing with official Doug Sirmons.
That effectively ignited a 10-0 spurt that prompted Purdue coach Matt Painter to call timeout. He tried to again stem the run when Hart hit a 3 to make it 50-41 — a 21-4 spree at that point.
Maryland kept surging after the timeout, and by the time Hart made another 3 with 7:15 remaining, the Terps were up 58-41 and Purdue faced its largest deficit of the season.
The Terps eventually pushed the advantage to 18 and never saw their lead cut to single digits the rest of the night against a team that was ranked No. 1 earlier this month.
BIG PICTURE
Purdue: The Boilermakers' recent struggles have all come against good teams, but they haven't been as sharp as they were during their 22-1 start. There's still time to sort things out before the postseason, and Purdue should get a boost from playing three of its final four regular-season games at home.
Maryland: The Terrapins improved to 8-0 in conference home games under coach Kevin Willard, who has re-energized the program in his first season since arriving from Seton Hall. Maryland also avenged an earlier loss for the third time this season; the Terps also split with Michigan and Wisconsin.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Purdue fell from No. 1 to No. 3 after its loss at Northwestern on Sunday, and the Boilermakers seem likely to slip at least a few more spots next week.
UP NEXT
Purdue plays host to Ohio State on Sunday.
Maryland visits Nebraska on Sunday.
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