Maryland men’s basketball dismantles No. 3 Purdue, 68-54, for first win over top-5 opponent since 2016
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The Maryland men’s basketball team did not allow No. 3 Purdue out of its rut.
Graduate student point guard Jahmir Young, senior shooting guard Hakim Hart and sophomore power forward Julian Reese combined for 43 points to power the Terps to a 68-54 win over the Boilermakers on Thursday night, prompting many of the announced 17,950 to storm the court at Xfinity Center.
The setback was the second in a row for Purdue (23-4, 12-4 Big Ten) after Sunday’s 64-58 loss to Northwestern and third in its past four games. Its previous three losses had occurred when the Boilermakers were the top-ranked team in the nation according to the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
While Purdue has struggled, Maryland (18-8, 9-6) has flourished. The Terps improved to 14-1 at home and extended their program-record winning streak against Big Ten opponents at Xfinity Center to 11.
Thursday’s victory was also the program’s first against a top-five opponent at home since Jan. 28, 2016, when that squad, which was ranked No. 8, upended No. 3 Iowa, 74-68.
The outcome seemed unlikely through the first four minutes of the second half when Purdue turned a 28-25 lead at halftime into a 37-29 advantage. Freshman point guard Braden Smith kick-started the 9-4 burst with five straight points, and then 7-foot-4 junior center Zach Edey scored four consecutive points.
After Young hit a jumper, a technical foul assessed to Boilermakers junior small forward Mason Gillis after he tangled with Reese for a rebound seemed to ignite Maryland, which scored eight unanswered points for a 39-37 lead. That was the Terps’ first since the score was 9-8 with 12:30 left in the first half.
Although a 3-pointer by junior shooting guard Brandon Newman restored Purdue’s lead at 40-39 with 13:23 remaining, Maryland scored six more points. And after Newman made one of two free throws at the 10:52 mark, the Terps embarked on a 13-0 run capped by five straight points from Hart for a 58-41 advantage with 7:15 left. All together, it was a 29-4 run that brought the crowd to its feet.
The Boilermakers tried to trim the deficit by scoring seven of the game’s next 10 points to make it 61-48 with 4:12 remaining, but Maryland would not be denied.
Young finished with a game-high 20 points and added five rebounds and four assists. Hart scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half and had four rebounds and three assists, while Reese, a Baltimore native and St. Frances graduate, racked up 10 points and nine rebounds while serving as the primary defender on Edey.
Edey, a strong candidate for Player of the Year honors, compiled 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Smith amassed 18 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Edey opened the game as the center of attention by the Terps and their fans, who roared when Reese stole the ball from him. But Edey scored four straight points and blocked a layup attempt by Reese to fuel a game-opening 6-2 spurt for Purdue.
The Terps followed with a 7-2 run that began with a Reese layup under an Edey block attempt, and senior shooting guard Hakim Hart scoring a jumper-and-one for a 9-8 lead with 12:30 left in the first half.
But Smith’s reverse layup ended a 2:40 drought for the Boilermakers. It also ignited an 8-4 burst that gave them a 16-13 lead with 9:12 remaining.
After Maryland graduate student power forward Patrick Emilien’s first 3-pointer in five tries this season tied the score at 18 with 5:55 left, Purdue took off on an 8-2 run built on four straight points from Gillis off the bench.
The Terps got a lift when Edey picked up his first and second fouls of the game within a 23-second span in the final minute of the first half. But Reese missed a pair of free throws with 27.2 seconds remaining, and the Boilermakers took a 28-25 lead into halftime.
Smith led all players at halftime with 10 points and two steals, and Edey compiled eight points and three rebounds.
Young paced Maryland with nine points, two assists and two steals, and Emilien had seven points off the bench.
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