Ben Johnson knows the future is bright for Gophers men's basketball with Jamison Battle, but the first-year coach's lack of depth inside this season continued to be a major detriment.
Jamison Battle's 39 points not enough for Gophers men's basketball in 84-73 loss at Maryland
Jamison Battle scored the most points for the Gophers since Marcus Carr's 41-point effort in a loss at Nebraska last season, but Maryland used an 8-0 run to pull away late.
March 3, 2022 at 12:41PM
Senior starting big man Eric Curry was out Wednesday at Maryland with an undisclosed injury, the ninth game missed this season by one of Johnson's rotation players.
Playing shorthanded isn't something new for the Gophers, but even Battle's career-high 39 points weren't enough to overcome the absence of one of their top post players in an 84-73 loss against the Terrapins at Xfinity Center in College Park.
"He did a good job within our offense finding space and guys did a good job of finding him," Johnson said of Battle. "He made some big-time shots. We needed every single one of those to go without Eric being able to go today. We became really perimeter-oriented."
Battle, who shot 14-for-31 from the field and 7-for-16 from three-point range, scored the most points for the Gophers since Marcus Carr's 41-point effort in a loss at Nebraska last season.
Battle's last three-pointer cut Maryland's lead to 70-68 with under three minutes left, but the Terrapins used an 8-0 run to pull away and hand Johnson's team its eighth straight defeat on the road.
The Gophers (13-15, 4-15 Big Ten) were within striking distance until the end, but the opposing game plan was successful from the opening tip: attacking the paint.
Curry, a 6-9, 245-pound sixth-year forward, watched from the bench as Maryland constantly threw the ball inside and drove into the lane to put pressure on the U's highly vulnerable interior defense.
The Terrapins (15-15, 7-12) shot 52% from the field and scored 28 of their 46 points in the paint in the first half.
"They were missing their starting center and we definitely talked about making sure the ball got into the paint," Maryland coach Danny Manning said. "[Battle's] a talented basketball player. When we made a mistake, he made us pay for it."
Payton Willis, who had 28 points Sunday to nearly lead the Gophers back from 27 points down in an 84-79 loss against Indiana, picked up where he left off from senior night with 21 points Wednesday.
Willis scored his team's first eight points to help give Battle more open looks early, but he had to sit midway through the first half with two fouls.
That put even more on Battle's shoulders to carry the load, but he delivered by matching former Terps player Diamond Stone for the most points scored at Maryland's arena, which opened in 2002.
One possession early was a sign of Battle's aggressiveness. Instead of settling for a jump shot when Luke Loewe passed him the ball in the corner, he drove baseline past a Maryland defender to emphatically dunk for two of his 20 first-half points.
Minnesota's coaches challenged Battle to attack the rim more consistently this year. Being less one-dimensional on offense was a point of emphasis Wednesday. He followed a step-back three-pointer in the second half with his second dunk of the game, this time with two hands, to cut Minnesota's deficit to 47-44.
The former DeLaSalle star's career high had been 29 points last season at nearby George Washington. He tied that mark with a jumper to pull within 49-46, but a tough intentional foul call gave the home team back the momentum.
Sean Sutherlin was called for a flagrant 1 foul for apparently slamming down on Hakim Hart's arm on a layup attempt at 13:38. Maryland used that sequence to eventually lead by as many as 13 points.
Battle's two free throws made it 66-63 around the four-minute mark. And his seventh three-pointer capped a 20-9 run to shrink Maryland's advantage to two points a minute later.
The Gophers ultimately couldn't end their drought on the road. They have one more shot Sunday at Northwestern, but Johnson realizes it will be tough without being at full strength.
"Obviously, it helps with our depth," Johnson said about getting Curry back. "He'll do everything he can to continue to get his body right. We'll hope for the best."
The Star Tribune did not travel for this event. This article was written using the television broadcast and video interviews before and/or after the event.
The Yellow Jackets backup played in 10 games this season, completing 35 of 63 passes, and rushed for four touchdowns.
