Box Score
Jay Joseph scored 16 points in his 101st career start for the Spartans |
College Park, MD - A 17-2 run to open the second half of play helped the 25th-ranked Maryland Terrapins to an 85-58 victory over UNC Greensboro Tuesday night at the Comcast Center in College Park, MD. The game was UNCG's second straight against a top-25 team, who played #10 Missouri on Sunday afternoon.
UNCG (4-6) came out of the gate giving Maryland (7-2) everything it could handle, as the Spartans connected on four of their first six shots from the floor to go out to an 11-8 early lead at the 16 minute mark of the half. The Spartans then converted on only five of their next 17 field goal attempts, while the Terrapins went on a 29-10 run to take a 37-21 lead with just five minutes left in the first stanza. The Spartans then switched from a zone to man-to-man, and went on a 7-0 run highlighted by back-to-back layups by Jelani Lawrence.
Maryland took a 42-32 lead into the half behind 10 points from Nik Caner-Medley. The Terps shot 57% in the half and claimed a 21-17 advantage on the glass.
Ronnie Burrell was the Spartans' go-to-guy in the opening half as he scored a team-high 10 points. Lawrence added eight point off the bench. The Spartans, plagued by turnovers much of the season, turned the ball over just four times in the first twenty minutes of the game.
After exchanging buckets to open the second half of play, Maryland went on a 17-2 run to stretch its lead to 23, 63-40, at the 11:54 mark. Dwon Clifton ended the run with an impressive baseline dunk. Maryland maintained a 20-point lead for most of the second half, capitalizing on 10 second half turnovers by UNCG.
Burrell and Jay Joseph each scored 16 points to lead the Spartans' attack, while Jelani Lawrence scored a career-high 12 points, connecting on all six of his field goal attempts. Joseph hit two 3-pointers on the evening, extending his streak of consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer to 42 games.
Nik Canter-Medley paced the Terps with a game-high 19 points. Freshman Ekene Ibekwe added a career-high 13 points, while Chris McCray added 11. Travis Garrison scored 10 and freshman D.J. Strawberry chipped in nine.
UNCG will return to action again after the holidays at Villanova on Sunday, December 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 pm in Philadelphia, PA.
