One half not enough as Maryland rallies to beat Northwestern

EVANSTON-For 20 minutes, Northwestern looked like an NCAA Tournament team. The Wildcats scored the first 10 points of the game and led No. 17 Maryland 40-26 at the half.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, college games are 40 minutes long. The second half was all Maryland, as the Terps outscored NU 51-26 after the break to pull away for a 77-66 win.

It was the third straight loss for Northwestern and the eighth in nine games. Not even Boo Buie’s return after almost a month off because of a stress fracture could save the Wildcats in this one.

What’s worse is that the defeat came at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Visiting teams in the Big Ten have won a collective seven road games in conference play this year, and three of those have come in Evanston.

Northwestern held the lead for nearly 31 minutes, until Anthony Cowan drilled a 3-pointer to give the Terrapins their first lead, 56-55, with 9:10 left in the second half. A Jalen Smith dunk on the next possession capped a 15-2 Maryland run that swung the momentum of the game.

Northwestern responded to take its last lead, 59-58, on a Pat Spencer jumper with 7:24 left, but Maryland wound up pulling away down the stretch to claim its first road win in Big Ten play.

Spencer had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Northwestern in both categories. Miller Kopp hit three of six 3-pointers to finish with 16 points, while Pete Nance chipped in with 11.

Smith scored 25 to lead all scorers, and, like his Maryland teammates, he did most of his damage in the second half, when he poured in 21 points after hitting six of seven shots. Aaron Wiggins scored 11 of his 17 in the second half, while Cowan finished with 12 points and six assists.

Here are our takeaways from the loss that left Northwestern with a record of 6-12 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten:

The Cats came out smoking: Maybe it was the frustration from dropping another close game to Illinois on Saturday. Maybe it was the long-anticipated return of Buie. Maybe it was because it was grilled cheese night at Welsh-Ryan.

Whatever the reason, Northwestern was red-hot coming out of the tunnel, building a 10-0 lead in the first 3:35.

Spencer hit a layup and Kopp a 3-pointer to open the scoring. Spencer then drained two free throws and Kopp nailed a jumper and completed a 3-point play.

Meanwhile, Maryland missed its first five shots from the floor. The Terrapins didn’t get on the scoreboard until Serrel Smith Jr. hit a triple from the corner at the 16:25 mark.

At the first media timeout, Northwestern held a 12-3 lead. The precedent set, the Wildcats’ lead grew to as much as 15 points in the first half before they headed to the locker room with a 40-26 advantage.

The second half was a different story: Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said that his team’s second-half turnaround wasn’t the result of any change in tactics. It was more about effort and attitude.

“Second half, we changed the way we were playing, changed our mental attitude. We played for the love of the game,” he said.

Maryland forced eight turnovers and turned them into 12 points in the second half, while committing only one turnover as a team. Their shooting improved from 24% in the first half to 45% in the second, in large part because Cowan was getting into the lane off the dribble and breaking down the Wildcats’ defense.

Another big factor working against the Wildcats was foul trouble. Northwestern committed its sixth team foul with more than 12 minutes left to put Maryland in the bonus. The Terps wound up making 17 of 19 free throws in the second half and 26 of 29 for the game. NU sunk just 11 of 13.

Buie was rusty: After missing five straight games, it hardly came as a surprise that Buie looked a little out of rhythm. Still, his presence gave the Wildcats a lift, as well as another available player for a short-handed bench.

Buie came in at the 14:57 mark of the first half, after a Maryland timeout. On his first possession, he launched a long, running hook from 10 feet that missed off the glass.

He hit a 25-foot triple for his first points since last Dec. 29. That turned out to be the only shot that he made, as he finished 1-of-7 from the floor and 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, including an airball in the final minutes. He also had two rebounds and a turnover in 15:48 of playing time.

Buie served as the primary ballhandler when he was on the floor and drew some oohs from the crowd when he broke Wiggins down with a crossover move, but he was unable to finish in the paint. In as sure a sign as any of his layoff, Buie missed two open floaters in the lane, shots that are usually his bread-and-butter.

Collins trying to keep his team’s spirit up: Several of Northwestern’s losses have come as the result of failures to hold leads and close out games in the second half. While the losses have been painful, head coach Chris Collins believes the Cats are close to breaking through.

He said that “we’re a different team than we were a month ago,” citing the development of freshmen like Robbie Beran, Ryan Young and Jared Jones. He stressed to his team after the game the importance of responding to opponent runs. He felt like that was the key to the loss tonight.

“There's going to be runs. When they do (go on a run), you've got to dig down and you’ve got to get stops and you’ve got to find baskets,” he said.

Collins says that his team’s attitude is still upbeat, despite the losses. He thinks that it’s his job to prevent his team from getting demoralized and to see the bigger picture.

“You learn the biggest lessons through adversity,” said Collins, who reminded the media that he played for the 1995 Duke team that’s been the only Blue Devil team to miss the tournament since 1979. “It’s disappointing because I feel we should have more wins than we have. We've played well enough to win some of these league games and it hasn't happened for us.”