In a showdown between Big Ten strugglers, Rutgers men's basketball edged out Maryland 69-65 on Sunday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (12-17, 5-13) managed to hold off the Terrapins (11-18, 4-14), despite a shaky second half, to complete their season sweep.
Freshman guard Lino Mark, fresh off an impressive 18-point game, earned his first career start. He quickly made an impact, opening the scoring with a three-pointer.
Both teams stumbled out of the gate, with Rutgers holding a slim 5-3 lead at the first media timeout. But the Knights soon found their rhythm, hitting 5 of their next 6 shots to surge ahead 16-10.
Rutgers kept the pressure on, closing the first half with a 23-10 run. They forced Maryland into a slew of turnovers, boasting a 14-1 advantage in that department, which translated into 14 points off those miscues.
Despite being outrebounded 27-10, Rutgers' defense and opportunistic play gave them a commanding 39-20 lead at halftime. Junior guard Tariq Francis shone with 13 first-half points, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Maryland came alive in the second half, shaking off their first-half woes. They nailed 3 of their first 4 shots and launched a 20-2 run, seizing a 48-47 lead with 11:26 remaining. It was a complete turnaround that erased Rutgers' earlier dominance.
Rutgers, however, regained their footing just in time. A crucial 6-0 run put them up 60-54 with 3:19 left, and they managed to fend off Maryland's late push.
Francis led the charge with 19 points, hitting all 10 of his free throws. Redshirt junior Darren Buchanan Jr. added 14 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Jamichael Davis contributed 12 points, six boards, and three steals.
Despite Maryland's 19 total turnovers and their 50-26 rebounding edge, including 16 offensive boards, Rutgers' free-throw shooting (19-of-23) proved decisive. The Knights' gritty win carries significant implications for Big Ten Tournament seeding.
Next, Rutgers heads to East Lansing to face Michigan State on Thursday night, with the game airing on Fox Sports 1 and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
Coach Steve Pikiell praised his team's resilience, saying, "Couldn't be more proud. When adversity hit, we stepped up and made every free throw down the stretch except for the one I told J-Mike to miss at the end.
Our defense was outstanding for the first 20 minutes, as good as we've played. We forced them into almost 20 turnovers, which is probably a season high for them.
I thought we were locked in and did what we needed to do in the second half just to finish the game off."