COLLEGE PARK, MD – Maryland suffered a 70-59 defeat to Rutgers, on Saturday afternoon at XFINITY Center. The Terps (9-8, 1-5 Big Ten) were led by Eric Ayala, who scored 13 points.

Donta Scott (12 points) and Hakim Hart (10 points) and also scored in double-figures.

Ron Harper Jr. keyed the Scarlet Knights' comeback as he connected on 5-of-5 from three-point range in the second half on his way to a career-high 31 points. Rutgers moved to 10-6 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten.

After Maryland led by 11 points as halftime, Rutgers opened the second half on a 22-7 run to 49-45 lead midway through the second half. The teams battled then back and forth in the final nine minutes.

With the game tied at 55-55 with 3:30 left in the second half, Geo Baker's layup and Paul Mulcahy's three-pointer put the Scarlet Knights up 60-55. Harper knocked down his fifth triple of the half for the final blow, putting Rutgers ahead, 65-57 with 1:14 left. Harper made five free throws in the final 47 seconds to seal it.

Breaking Down The Action

Maryland raced out to a 13-4 lead less than five minutes into the game, but Rutgers responded with a 10-0 run to tie the game at 14-14. The Scarlet Knights took their first lead of the game at 21-20 on a three-pointer by Ron Harper Jr., with eight minutes left in the first half. The Terps quickly answered with their own 10-0 run to take a 30-21 lead on a Scott layup with 6:12 left in the first half. Maryland led 38-27 at halftime, with Ayala leading the way with 10 points.

Rutgers chipped away at the Maryland lead early in the second half and eventually took its first lead in nearly 20 minutes thanks to a 10-0 spurt with Harper canning back-to-back three-pointers to put the Scarlet Knights up 49-45 with 9:14 left in the second half. Rutgers opened the second half outscoring the Terps 22-7.

The Terps answered Rutgers' surge with its own back-to-back treys by Scott and Ayala to regain the edge, 51-49 with seven minutes left. Harper responded by connecting on consecutive three-pointers to put Rutgers back in front, 55-51 with 4:23 left. The Terps came right back with Julian Reese and Fatts Russell buckets to tie the game at 55-55. The Scarlet Knights scored 15 of the game's final 19 points to secure the win, keyed by Harper.

Up Next

The Terps will head to Michigan to play the Wolverines on Tuesday, Jan. 20. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN2.