Northwestern put up another impressive effort on the road on Tuesday night at No. 7 Maryland.

Unfortunately, there are no moral victories in the Big Ten, and the Wildcats left College Park with nothing to show for all of their heroics except a 10th straight defeat.

Jalen Smith racked up 22 points and a career-high 19 rebounds to lead Maryland to a 76-67 win over the Wildcats.

These were two teams on different ends of the spectrum battling it out for the second time this year. Maryland increased its lead to two games in the Big Ten with its ninth straight win. The Wildcats, meanwhile, fell further into the conference basement with their 10th loss in a row to match the longest of head coach Chris Collins' tenure, and 15th in 16 games.

Ryan Young led Northwestern with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Boo Buie tallied 15 points and Miller Kopp 13. No other Wildcat scored more than seven points.

Northwestern got off to a slow start for a change as Maryland scored the first five points of the game. The Terps lead reached 17-6 after a pair of Anthony Cowan free throws at the 12:25 mark before the Wildcats made a run to close their advantage to 25-22 when Boo Buie, who led NU with nine points in the first half, made a jumper with 4:06 left.

That’s when Maryland heated up from the perimeter, as Darryl Morsell, Aaron Wiggins and Eric Ayala made three consecutive 3-pointers as the Terrapins closed the half with a 12-3 run to take a 37-25 edge into the locker room.

The Terrapins put on a passing clinic in the first half, with 12 assists on their 13 baskets, and Smith led the way with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Northwestern began the second half by hitting seven of its first eight shots from the floor to close the gap from 12 to five, 45-40, after Buie drained a jumper at the 15:05 mark. Ryan Young did most of the damage during the run, scoring four of those buckets inside, where he was having his way with the taller but skinnier Smith.

The Cats would close to within 48-44 with 12: 25 to go after Pat Spencer, who didn’t hit a shot from the field in the first half, made a layup off of a fake behind-the-back pass that fooled Cowan.

Maryland responded and pushed the lead to nine after a pair of Smith free throws. But just when you thought the Terrapins would pull away, Miller Kopp, who was scoreless in the first half, hit a 3-pointer from the wing to narrow the lead to 57-51 with 8:27 left.

The Wildcats traded blows for a while, as Maryland’s lead fluctuated between six and eight points, but then the Terps went on a 6-0 run fueled by a Smith dunk, a couple Cowan free throws and a Wiggins layup to lengthen the lead back to 12 with 3:22 left.

A Kopp jumper and a triple from the corner off of a pass from Young got the lead back to single digits at 70-62 with 1:44 to go, but Smith and Morsell hit two free throws apiece as Maryland maintained its lead.

Here are our three pointers from the loss that left Northwestern with a record of 6-19 overall and 1-14 in the Big Ten:

Smith showed why he has an NBA future…: Maryland’s sophomore big man just missed putting up a 20-20 against the Wildcats.

He was nearly perfect in the first half, hitting 5 of 7 shots for 12 points, to go along with 12 rebounds. He added 10 points and 7 more boards in the second half to finish with 22 and 19, and also added two blocks and two steals.

Collins was effusive in his praise of Smith after the game.

“What makes him so tough is his ability to play all over the court,” said Collins, citing his play on the interior, as well as his pick-and-pop game from the outside. “There’s a reason why he’s going to play basketball (in the NBA) for a long time.”

…but Young more than held his own: As good as Smith was, Young, NU’s redshirt freshman center, went toe-to-toe with him in maybe his best game as a Wildcat.

Young went right at Smith repeatedly in the low post with an array of nifty moves and finished 8 for 11 from the floor for his 17 points. He also had three assists, including a sharp pass to Kopp for a 3-pointer after a drive to the basket, as well as two blocks.

“I was really proud of Ryan,” said Collins. “He just comes to work. He’s not a frills guy.”

He continued, “I think Ryan Young is going to be a terrific player over the next four years. I’m really excited to see his growth.”

Spencer had his homecoming: Spencer played his first game as a basketball player in his home state of Maryland in front a group of family and friends. And while things didn’t go as expected in the scoring department for the former Loyola-Maryland lacrosse player, Collins lauded his all-around game.

Spencer scored just two free throws in the first half, but he went 2-for-4 from the floor and scored five of his seven points in the second. He also contributed five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block, without a turnover, in 32 minutes.

“It’s remarkable what he’s doing this year,” said Collins, who noted how much his game has improved in his first season of organized basketball since high school to become a leader on the team.