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Maryland Terrapins Men's Basketball Takes Down the Penn State Nittany Lions, 67-61

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Basketball
On Red Out Night, with a Taylor Swift theme, the red-clad Terrapins topped Penn State, 67-61, thanks to some red-hot shooting in the second half on Monday night at XFINITY Center. The Terps won their second game in a row to improve to 13-14 overall and 5-11 in Big Ten play. Fatts Russell (18 points, all in the second half) and Eric Ayala (13 points) combined for 27 points in the second half after being held to three total points in the first half. The pair hit five consecutive shots including three three-pointers in a row to start a 15-3 spurt to push a 40-39 lead to 55-42 with 8:40 left in regulation.  

Donta Scott was also in double-figures with 12 points. Qudus Wahab had seven points and a team-high seven rebounds. 

Penn State (11-13, 6-10) was led by Sam Sessoms (17 points) and  John Harrar (14 points and 13 rebounds). 

From The Coach

"I'm extremely happy for our guys to win two-straight games. I really enjoyed the energy in the building with the red shirts. Eric and Fatts played really well, especially in the second half. Ian gave us some good minutes with another game with four steals. I thought we disrupted the passing lanes and it gave us a chance to get out in some fast break settings."

Breaking Down The Action
  • The Terps started hot, hitting four consecutive shots at one point in the opening five minutes and taking a 13-9 lead with 12:11 remaining in the first half. Wahab was all over the court, scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds in the opening eight minutes. Neither team could create much separation from the other, with Maryland's offense staying balanced with Hakim Hart's five points, Ayala's six points, and Wahab's seven at the under-four timeout. Trailing 26-28 late in the half, Ian Martinez plucked a Penn State pass and took it the distance, laying it in with three seconds left and tying the game at 28 heading into the half.  
  • Maryland's second half started strong, outsourcing the Nittany Lions 18-11 over the first seven minutes, punctuated by a steal and three-pointer by Ayala, sending XFINITY Center into a frenzy.  The Terps began to pull away as they led 55-42 with 8:40 remaining after a steal and score by Hart. Maryland was able to squash a late comeback attempt as Russell's late free throws iced the game. 

Double-Figure Update

  • Russell (14 points) hit double-figures for the 22nd time this season, including the last nine games in a row, and 98th time in his career.  
  • Ayala (13 points) has scored in double-figures in 17 games this season and now has 68 in his career.
  • Scott (12 points) scored 10-plus for the 18th time this season and 42nd time in his career.

Eyes on Ayala

  • With 13 points in the game, Eric Ayala moved to 24th in career scoring at Maryland, passing Exree Hipp (1,372) and Will Hetzel (1,370). Next on the list at 23rd is legend Gene Shue with 1,384. 
  • Ayala also hit three three-pointers and now has 210 in his career. He's third all-time behind only Juan Dixon (239) and Greivis Vasquez (230)

Ian The Thief

  • For the second game in a row, Ian Martinez had a career-high four steals.
  • He now has 22 steals this season.
  • Martinez also scored four points including a nifty driving layup as time expired in the first half to tie the game heading into halftime. 

Series History 

  • The Terps are now 5-1 all-time in XFINITY Center against the Nittany Lions, ending a four-game losing streak in the series. 
  • Maryland leads the all-time series, 15-13, dating back to its inception in 1960.


Up Next

The Terps travel to Bloomington, Indiana, for a matchup against the Hoosiers at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on FS1 and the Maryland Sports Radio Network.  On Feb. 27 against Ohio State, Maryland Athletics will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its National Championship in 2002. That game will tip at 4 p.m., and will air on CBS. Hall of Fame coach, Gary Williams, and star players, Juan Dixon, Steve Blake and Lonny Baxter are among the many stars expected to return and be recognized.