Maryland's second-half spurt overwhelms No. 3 Purdue

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – As quickly as Purdue built an eight-point lead early in the second half, the advantage disappeared just as fast.

And once Maryland took control, Thursday’s game was over and the Boilermakers’ lead in the Big Ten standings is down to one game in the loss column. Using the energy from its crowd and a technical foul on Mason Gillis, the Terrapins steamrolled No. 3 Purdue 68-54 and won going away.

Maryland dominated the Boilermakers after falling behind 37-29 with 16:11 to play, outhustling them on the boards and in transition. Purdue couldn’t find the basket and the Terrapins pounced on every mistake, leading to a 19-1 spurt and eventually a 30-6 run.

Zach Edey and Braden Smith carried the Boilermakers on offense, but they needed help. The pair combined for 36 points.

The Boilermakers (23-4, 12-4) hold a one-game lead on Northwestern in the loss column heading into the weekend. Indiana, Maryland, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State are two games back in the loss column.

Purdue still controls its path to the regular-season championship but the margin for error continues to shrink with each loss. The Boilermakers have dropped three of four after a nine-game winning streak.

“Another loss. It’s just another game,” said Smith, who had 18 points. “We’ve got games to look forward to; this one is down the drain and we’re onto the next one. We have a goal and we’re trying to keep going toward that goal and get the next four wins.”

Thursday marked the eighth time in the last two years Purdue has witnessed a court storming after a loss. With the game decided and the clocking ticking down, coach Matt Painter started to move his players off the court and avoid the swarm of students and eliminate the risk of a potential injury.

“You always hear people get mad on court storms,” Painter said. “Maryland’s winning and their security, they’re No. 1. They did a great job tonight. They kicked our ass and they kicked our ass in the court storm. That’s just professional. (Maryland coach) Kevin (Willard) was trying to help us there at the end. A couple of guys got pinballed at Northwestern and it was a tough deal.”

PDF: Purdue-Maryland stats | Stat Blast | Wrap Video

‘I’VE GOT TO CONTROL MY EMOTIONS BETTER’

Gillis was whistled for a foul at the 15:20 mark, a call he didn’t agree with. He showed his displeasure to the official by waving his hand in the direction of Doug Simons and immediately received a technical.

It was the start of the unraveling for the Boilermakers, who were outscored 37-17 the rest of the way. The technical ignited an already amped up crowd and poured gasoline on a combustible situation.

“It definitely changed the momentum,” Gillis said. “I have to do a better job of controlling my emotions. I shouldn’t let something, a bad call, let that get the best of me, no matter what the situation is in the game. I’ve got to control my emotions better.”

Coach Matt Painter called it “a big play.” The Terrapins rattled off eight straight points, starting with the two technical foul shots, and never looked back in remaining unbeaten at home against Big Ten teams and staying alive for a top four spot in the conference tournament.

“You don’t realize it at the time; you just think it’s not that big of a deal. It’s two points and they shoot free throws but that’s when the momentum swung right there,” Painter said.

Purdue, though, didn’t have a response to the outburst. The Terrapins latched into the momentum and put the game in a headlock.

“You’ve got to have some toughness. You’ve got to have a backbone,” Painter said. “You want it to sharpen you, you want it to make you better.”

It’s been a frustrating season for the Boilermakers dealing with physical play all season. Was this a breaking point of all those emotions finally bubbling to the surface?

“Yeah, but that’s not an excuse for anything,” Gillis said. “Everybody goes through battles, everybody has to play against us and we’re physical. Everybody else in the Big Ten is physical.”

‘THEY JUST DOMINATED US’

Through 26 games, the Boilermakers have owned the boards, leading the nation in rebounding margin. But to see the Terrapins dominate Painter’s team in this fashion was surprising.

Maryland (18-8, 9-6) won the rebounding 35-23 and held Purdue to three offensive rebounds. Of the Boilermakers’ 28 misses, only three came back, preventing second-chance opportunities, a tremendous strength this season.  

“They played physical, they played tougher,” said Edey, who totaled 18 points and eight rebounds.

The full answer won’t be known, at least from Purdue’s perspective, until Painter and the coaching staff pour over the film. There are the basic answers – the Terrapins were quicker to the ball, wanted the rebounds more and displayed a high-level of hustle and toughness on the glass.

“I don’t know. I can’t pinpoint it. I need to watch it back,” Gillis said.

On a night Purdue committed seven turnovers, including two in the final 32 minutes, the rebounding disappeared. Add the fact that Jahmir Young and Hakim Hart broke down the defense, contributed to the worst performance of the season in a lot of areas.

“Maryland did a great job of being aggressive and getting the ball where they wanted to,” Painter said. “They were the aggressor. We did a good job of handling their press, only having seven turnovers and we’re one of the best rebounding teams in the country and they just dominated us.”

PERIMETER SHOOTING STRUGGLES

For the second time against the Terrapins, the Boilermakers made just 2 of 13 from 3-point range.

They snapped a string of 18 straight misses from beyond the arc, dating back to the first half against Northwestern, when Smith drained a 3-pointer in the second half.

In the last three losses, Purdue is 13 of 53 from 3-point range, including 1 of 11 from Fletcher Loyer, one of the team’s top shooters. The Boilermakers need perimeter shooting to spread out the defense and give Edey more room inside.

Right now, Purdue isn’t a threat from beyond arc, but a similar situation happened earlier in the season. The Boilermakers found their way after that slump and are confident they’re start seeing shots go down shortly.

“We’ve got to make some shots. I thought we had some looks,” Painter said. “They did a good job of defending us and we still had some looks that have to go down for us.

“We have to have a balance of driving the basketball, making 3s and getting post ups for Zach. And when we don’t have that balance, they’re going to shrink the defense.”