Hot-shooting Maryland breezes by Gophers 77-66

COLLEGE PARK, MD. – With seconds winding down in the first half Thursday night, Maryland's Anthony Cowan drove hard to the basket at Nate Mason, but he lost the ball out of bounds at the buzzer.

What looked like a positive sequence going into halftime down only a point turned out a little concerning for the Gophers when Mason walked gingerly off the court, grabbing his hip in pain.

Coach Richard Pitino really can't afford to lose any more key players already minus two starters, so Mason ended up playing all 40 minutes a bit banged up.

But the Gophers didn't have the same fight in the second half, falling 77-66 to Maryland in front of an announced 13,736 at the Xfinity Center.

"I think he'll be fine," Pitino said of Mason. "We're making him do a lot. It's hard on him. It's difficult, but it's the situation we have right now."

Mason finished with 14 points but shot only 5-for-16 from the field. Jordan Murphy had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Gophers (14-7, 3-5 Big Ten), who fell to 1-4 without suspended center Reggie Lynch and injured guard Amir Coffey (shoulder).

Kevin Huerter scored 19 points and Michal Cekovsky 17 for the Terrapins (15-6, 4-4), who shot 55.6 percent from the floor, including 68.4 percent in the second half.

Maryland led 29-21 with three minutes left in the first half, but the Gophers scored the last seven points of the first half and then the first four of the second. Murphy's jumper gave them a 32-29 lead, but it went all downhill from there.

The Terrapins used a 21-2 run to blow the game open by attacking on ball screens. Huerter hit a three-pointer and followed with an alley-oop to Cekovsky to start the rally. Cekovsky scored 10 points in all during the surge, which ended when he tapped in another alley-oop pass to make it 50-34.

"The pick-and-roll lob action we didn't cover so well," Murphy said. "We struggled down the stretch there. They hit a couple shots and made a huge run we couldn't really fight back from. But we have to keep believing, playing hard."

Both the Terrapins and Gophers are trying to stay afloat with NCAA tournament aspirations despite not being at full strength. The Terps lost forwards Justin Jackson (shoulder) and Ivan Bender (knee) for the season, but they were still included in March Madness projections Thursday.

On the other hand, the Gophers are falling further out of contention with their fourth loss in five games minus two starters, including a third double-digit defeat.

But the Gophers are still having to play their starters heavy minutes with no way to get them proper rest while traveling almost every day.

Pitino is frustrated that instead of going back to the Twin Cities, the Big Ten made his team play a third consecutive game away from home, facing No. 22 Ohio State at New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

"Big Ten is not doing us any favors," Pitino said. "It's not fair, but, oh well, that's the way it works."