COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Despite being outrebounded 10-3 on the offensive glass Feb. 2 against No. 24 Purdue (12-7, 7-5), Maryland (10-8, 4-7 Big Ten) was able to secure the most important offensive rebound of the game thanks to the heroics of junior guard Eric Ayala, who helped propel the Terps to a 61-60 win over the Boilermakers in College Park.

The win marks Maryland’s fourth of the season against a top-25 ranked team and is the Terps’ first Big Ten win at home this year.

“Just a great win,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said. “Purdue is a heck of a team and well-coached and really physical. And when the big kid plays like that they’re really good. So I’m proud of my guys, I’m really happy for my guys because it’s tough. I think we’ve played eight of our last ten games against ranked opponents and two of those were against Michigan, which is tough, and I think we’re 4-4 in those eight games. So our guys are battling and hopefully this gives them a little confidence moving forward.”

With Maryland down one and 48 seconds to go, Terps head coach Mark Turgeon called Ayala’s number. After Purdue center Trevion Williams switched on Ayala off of a screen, Ayala took the ball strong to the hoop but was unable to convert, however, he came down with his own rebound and was subsequently fouled on a putback attempt with 3.3 second left on the clock.

“I was just trying to see what [Williams] was going to give me,” Ayala said. “I didn’t really want to settle for the jumpshot. I felt like I could get to the paint. So I think I drove and then I came back out and I had a little space to shoot the jumper, but I felt like I could really get to the paint and draw the foul or make the shot and I missed it and it came off the rim and I got it back and I got to the line.”

Heading the charity stripe with the game on the line, Ayala, who finished with 16 points, five assists, and three rebounds, hit both of his free throws to give Maryland the decisive lead.

“The rebound was great,” Turgeon said. “They were so worried about our shooters and we drove it and the ball bounced our way...It was good to see Eric — I liked our matchup, they executed out of the timeout, we knew they were going to switch Eric on Williams, we like that matchup. Eric didn’t settle. He went deep and then was lucky enough to get the rebound and get fouled on it. So I’m glad he stepped up and made both [free throws], which was good for us.”

While it was Ayala who provided the late-game heroics, it was junior wing Aaron Wiggins who led the Terps in scoring with 18 points on Tuesday night. Wiggins also added a game-high 11 rebounds to his totals.

Wiggins, like the rest of the Terps, started to heat up offensively after halftime. Wiggins went into the locker room 0-for-4 from three at the end of the first half, and Maryland as a whole was 1-for-12 from deep. But Wiggins made three of his four attempts from beyond the arc and Maryland shot 8-for-13 from three in the second half.

“Our mindset was just stay confident and we knew shots we’re going to fall in the second half,” Wiggins said. “There was no way we were going to go 1-for-12 in the second half again. Things have to even out. And once we got going there was nothing you could do to stop us.”

Maryland avenged a loss at Purdue earlier this season, when the Boilermakers beat the Terps 73-70 Dec. 25 in West Lafayette. The Terps were certainly motivated Tuesday night after feeling like they let one slip away back on Christmas Day.

“It was a great win,” Wiggins said. “We were all really confident going into it that it was a win we could get and we felt like we let one slip away at their place — lost by three, missed 10-12 free throws, got outrebounded by 10-plus. So it was little things that kept us from getting that one but we knew what we had to do to get the job done today and we knew it was going to be a good game, we knew it was going to be a fight right down to the wire. So we were just tough enough to do the little things and came out with the outcome we want.”

Maryland hits the road for its next outing when it heads to Penn State Feb. 5.