Fatts Russell scored all of his 18 points in the second half as the Maryland Terrapins defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 67-61 on Monday Night at the Xfinity Center in College Park.
Russell and Eric Ayala led the Terrapins (13-14 overall, 5-11, Big Ten Conference) on a 16-3 run at the second half with Russel hitting a three-pointer than Ayala hitting two three-pointers to make the score 48-39, then after a three-point play by Sam Sessions, Maryland went on a 7-0 run with a layup by Ayala and a three-point play by Hakim Hart to put the Terrapins up 55-42. Penn State (11-13 Overall, 6-10 Big Ten Conference) tried to claw back but never got the deficit closer to four points.
The downfall for the Nittany Lions were the turnovers and empty possessions, especially in the second half. Penn State committed 13 turnovers for the game and shot only five three throws compared to Maryland making 19 trips to the line. Penn State settles for too many jump shots instead of driving to the basket or going to John Harrar in the post.
Sessions led Penn State with 17 off the bench, Followed by Harrar 14 to go along with 13 rebounds, and Jalen Pickett scored 13. Ayala had 13 points off the bench going 3 for 6 from the three-point line, and Donta Smith added 12 for the Terrapins.
Penn State will go back to the Bryce Jordan Center as they will take on the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday Night, while Maryland will travel to Indiana to face the Indiana Hoosiers on Thursday night.
Twitter: @bwalkerdadon
