Against its toughest opponent yet this season, No. 5 Maryland (8-0) had its strongest start to a game so far this year, jumping all over Marquette (5-2) early Dec. 1 and never letting up in an 84-63 win in the finals of the Orlando Invitational.

Terps senior point guard, and tournament MVP, Anthony Cowan Jr. scored a team-high 22 points against the Golden Eagles and finished the tournament with 72 points over three games.

The Terps closed the first half on a 7-0 run, capped off by a deep three from Cowan, who had 13 points at halftime, as his team took a 21-point lead to the locker room. Cowan had a strong game on both ends of the floor Sunday, adding six rebounds, four assists, and three steals to his totals while turning the ball over just once.

Maryland’s lead grew as high as 25 in the second half, and Marquette was never able to get closer than within 12 after the Terps took their first double-digit lead halfway through the first half.

Terps junior guard Darryl Morsell and sophomore wing Aaron Wiggins joined Cowan in double-digit scoring with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Morsell added 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double — he had 13 points, 12 rebounds in the semifinals against Harvard — and second of the season.

Maryland’s defense made it impossible for Marquette to get back in the game on Sunday. The Golden Eagles heated up a bit from deep late in the game, but Marquette struggled to score for the majority of the game and turned the ball over 16 times.

Coming off a 51-point performance in the semifinals and 40 points in the quarterfinals, Golden Eagles leading scorer, Markus Howard, was shut down by the Terps. Howard shot 1-for-12 from the field and 0-for-6 from three in a six-point, four-turnover performance.

The only Golden Eagles’ scorers to hurt Maryland Saturday were sophomore forward Brendan Bailey and senior guard Sacar Anim, who finished with 27 and 21, respectively.

Maryland finished with a plus-10 margin on the boards against Marquette, as five Terps — Morsell (10), Cowan (6), Wiggins (6), and Jalen ‘Stix’ Smith (6) — finished with at least six rebounds.

The Terps ended the Golden Eagles’ three-game winning streak and are 8-0 for the first time in the Mark Turgeon era. Maryland takes to the court again in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge Dec. 4 against Notre Dame.