WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Junior guard Eric Ayala scored a game-high 23 points, fellow junior backcourt mate Aaron Wiggins added 14 points and sophomore forward Donta Scott added 10 points, as the No. 10 seed Terps essentially controlled the game from tipoff to the final buzzer, defeating No. 7 seed UConn, 63-54, in the Round of 64.

Maryland shot the ball over 50 percent from the field, including 9-of-18 from beyond the arc, while holding UConn to just 32 percent shooting from the field.

James Bouknight led UConn with a team-high 15 points, but the Maryland defense was able to hold him to just 6-of-16 shooting from the field, including just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Jalen Gaffney was the only other UConn player to finish in double-figure scoring, finishing with 12 points off the bench.

IT WAS OVER WHEN: Aaron Wiggins beat UConn’s full court pressure by finding a streaking Hakim Hart for a wide open dunk to give the Terps a 63-54 lead with 30 seconds left to play.

HE STOLE THE SHOW: Junior guard Eric Ayala came out versus UConn and right from the tip played like someone who wasn’t ready for his season to end. Ayala finished one point off his career high, finishing with a game-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists and three steals.

THE STATS DON’T LIE: After going just 10-of-21 (.476) from the charity stripe and 10-of-28 (.357) from beyond the arc earlier in the season at Mackey Arena in a loss to Purdue, the Terps went 10-14 (.714) from the free throw line and 9-of-18 (.500) from beyond the arc in their win over the Huskies.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Survive and advance. It wasn’t pretty, especially in the first half when the Terps allowed the Huskies to pull down 18 offensive rebounds that lead to nine second-chance points. But Maryland played lockdown defense for most of the game, shot the ball efficiently and held UConn to just four offensive rebounds and two second-chance points in the second half. Maryland will next face No. 2 seed Alabama of the SEC on Monday.