EditorsNote: Clarifies it's Maryland's first road win of the season in lead; other minor edits
Jalen Smith scored a career-high 25 points as No. 17 Maryland rallied on Tuesday to get its first road win of the season, defeating host Northwestern 77-66 in a Big Ten Conference game.
Smith, who added 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season, got 21 of his points in the second half as Maryland (15-4, 5-3) rolled to 51 points in that frame and overcame a 14-point halftime deficit.
The Wildcats (6-12, 1-7) fell for the third straight time and suffered their eighth loss in the last nine games. Pat Spencer led Northwestern with 17 points and Miller Kopp added 16.
After surrendering its lead with 9:10 to play, Northwestern battled back to tie the score 61-61 on a Spencer jumper at 6:38. But Maryland closed the game with a 16-5 run to put the game away. Aaron Wiggins came off the bench to score 17 points, hitting 5 of 9 3-point attempts. Maryland was 13 of 33 behind the arc, hitting more 3s than two-point field goals (six).
After trailing by as many as 15 points, the Terrapins finally got their first lead with a 13-2 run, as Anthony Cowan Jr. hit a 3 with 9:10 to play to put Maryland ahead 56-55. A 10-3 spree to open the second half put the Terrapins within striking distance, with Cowan's layup at 16:31 making it 43-36. Cowan had 12 points and six assists as Maryland won its first road game after four consecutive losses away from Xfinity Center.
The Wildcats took a 40-26 halftime lead, hitting 15 of 25 from the field (60 percent) and shutting down the Terrapins, who connected on just 24 percent (6 of 25). Northwestern jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first five minutes, with Kopp scoring six points over that span.
Maryland fought back to cut it to 23-17 at 9:24 on a Smith dunk, but the Wildcats ran off the next six points. The Terrapins took 17 of their 25 shots from 3-point range, including eight of their first 10. Maryland entered the game last in the Big Ten, hitting just .306 behind the arc.
The Terrapins stay on the road, traveling to Indiana on Sunday. The Wildcats host Ohio State the same day.
--Field Level Media
