Published Mar 4, 2021
Maryland win streak comes to an end at Northwestern
Scott Greene  •  TerrapinSportsReport
Publisher

Junior guard Aaron Wiggins scored a career-high 26 points but it wasn't enough, as Maryland (15-11, 9-10 Big Ten) was unable to convert down the stretch, falling to Northwestern (8-14, 5-13) 60-55, ending a five-game win streak.

For the second straight game Maryland jumped out to an early lead, opening with a 9-0 run. But the Terps were unable to sustain their offensive momentum, as Northwestern quickly went on an 8-0 run of their own before taking their first lead of the game 12 minutes in on a three-pointer by Pete Nance. The Wildcats would take a two-point lead into the locker room at the half.

With the game tied at 54, Maryland took a one-point lead on a Darryl Morsell free throw with 2:32 remaining in the second half. But the Terps went ice cold from there, going 0-for-7 from the field the rest of the way, not scoring another point.

“I thought the team that played the best won the game," said Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon. "Thought they played better than we did, disappointing night for us, frustrating night for me. We just didn’t do the things we needed to do and I’m not talking about missed shots against the zone, we had three really good looks late, missed them. I’m not talking about those, frustrating night all around. The team that deserved to win won the game tonight.”

Morsell finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists and was the only Terp other than Wiggins to finish in double-figure scoring.

Among the many issues for Maryland were 15 turnovers, many of which came in the half-court offense.

“It’s us," Morsell said. "Can’t blame nobody else, we can’t blame coach Turgeon, we can’t blame...I mean it’s us five on the court, we got to take care of the ball. We're not running, we're not in transition turning the ball over; it’s all in the half-court. So we've just got to do a better job of making reads and making the right plays.”

A big part of the issue on offense was lack of bench scoring. Jairus Hamilton, Galin Smith and Reese Mona scored a combined zero points.

“We had two guys play well, I’m not going to mention names," Turgeon said. "The rest of us weren’t very good, so frustrating night. Still had a chance to win it, still had a chance to win it and we got back to our inconsistencies when we weren’t a good team. We got back to that team tonight.”

The Terps will return home to College Park to finish out the regular season Sunday versus Penn State. for its final home game of the 2020-21 regular season to host Penn State on Sunday, March 7. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.