Minnesota's Joey King Brought To Tears After Upset Over Maryland [VIDEO]
JON KRAWCZYNSKI, AP Basketball Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mark Turgeon didn't think his team looked at Minnesota's 0-13 record in the Big Ten and took a win for granted.
The real problem for Turgeon is that when he looks at No. 6 Maryland right now, he has a hard time recognizing it at all.
Nate Mason had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists to help Minnesota get its first Big Ten win of the season with a stunning 68-63 upset of the Terrapins on Thursday night.
"I've got to figure out a way to get our team going again," Turgeon said after the Terrapins lost a second straight game for the first time all season. "We're not ourselves."
Rasheed Sulaimon scored 28 points for Maryland (22-5, 10-4). Melo Trimble had 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting and the Terrapins turned the ball over 15 times.
Jordan Murphy added 17 points and 11 rebounds and Joey King had 15 points and six boards for Minnesota (7-19, 1-13), which shot just 33 percent but somehow held on for the win.
The Williams Arena crowd stormed the court when time expired to celebrate Minnesota's first Big Ten regular season win since beating Michigan State on Feb. 26, 2015.
"We hadn't won in two months," Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said. "It was awesome to see everybody get that feeling again."
For the second straight game, including a sloppy loss at home to Wisconsin, the Terrapins got off to a poor start defensively to give their opponent some confidence.
The Gophers hit 7 of 10 3-point attempts in the first 10 minutes of the game to build an 11-point lead, and the Terrapins played like a team that looked at Minnesota's record and figured showing up would be enough. Trimble missed seven of his first eight shots, the Terrapins gave up wide open shots on the perimeter one after another and hit only 35 percent in the first half to give the Gophers life.
Mason and Dupree McBrayer scored on consecutive steals for a 12-point lead with 12:30 to play to get Williams Arena rocking.
"You have to be man enough to know when you're wrong, and work on to improving that, individually and collectively as a team," Sulaimon said. "We've got to figure out how to start games better. We've got to work, work, work. We've got all the talent in the world, but, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."
The first "Over-rated!" chants started to ring around the 10-minute mark, and that's when Sulaimon got going. He scored nine points in a 12-4 burst that cut the deficit to four points with just over 7 minutes to play.
Maryland led 60-59 with 3 minutes to play, but King, Mason and Murphy hit free throws down the stretch to hold off the Terrapins.
"This is not a lot of fun," Turgeon said. "I just want us playing better. That's what I'm going to try to get going."
MISSING DIAMOND
The Terrapins played without freshman Diamond Stone, who was suspended one game for a hard foul of a Badgers player in the loss to Wisconsin. Stone averaged 12.8 points a game, and his 6-foot-11 frame would have come in handy against the undersized Gophers.
"Diamond can score down there, so we missed him," Turgeon said.
TRIMBLE STRUGGLING
Trimble, Maryland's point guard, has made just 4 of 25 shots in the last two games and has turned the ball over 11 times.
"It's my job. That's what I get paid to do. I've got to get Melo going again," Turgeon said. "Hopefully I can do it Sunday by 1 o'clock."
TIP-INS
Maryland: They shot just 37.5 percent for the game. ... Jake Layman was the only other Terrapin in double figures with 11 points.
Minnesota: This was the first game since senior Carlos Morris, the Gophers' fourth-leading scorer, was kicked off the team for conduct detrimental to the team. ... After the Gophers' hot start from 3 they hit just 1 of their next 12 and finished 8 for 23.
UP NEXT
Maryland: Hosts Michigan on Sunday.
Minnesota: Hosts Rutgers on Tuesday.
(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
