Maryland Falls Short In Big Ten Home Opener Against Ranked Opponent
In this story:
COLLEGE PARK -- The Maryland Terrapins dropped their second Big Ten matchup of the season, falling to Michigan 101-83 Saturday evening in a hard-fought matchup.
It was a tale of two halves for the Terps (6-5, 0-2 Big Ten) ending the first half with a 50-45 lead over the Wolverines ( 9-0, 2-0 Big Ten) with a huge contribution coming from David Coit, who concluded the half with 22 points on 6-9 shooting from behind the arc.
Coit added on to his hot first half with another 11 points on 2-3 from three, ending the game as the leading scorer amongst both teams and one three short of the school record set by Mike Jones.
Myles Rice proved to be a great spark plug off the bench, contributing 10-straight points after checking in during the first half. He finished the game as the Terrapins' only other double-digit scorer with 15.
The Wolverines found themselves trailing heading into halftime for the first time this season, but turned things around in the second half, taking the lead at the 13:52 mark and refusing to let up after.
Yaxel Lendeburg led the charge for the Wolverines on both ends of the floor, contributing a near triple-double with 29 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds with 3 blocks and 2 steals to speak for his effort on defense.
In addition to Lendeburg, Michigan also had 3 players put up double figures, and two others coming close with 9 points.
Michigan’s highly ranked offense proved too much for the Terps to handle after losing their two interior pillars, Pharrel Payne and Solomon Washington.
Payne, who contributed three blocks before his departure, exited the match with 4:36 left in the first half after a Michigan defender landed on his ankle.
As for Washington, who also contributed a block, he was assessed two technical fouls and ejected early in the second half after emotions got the best of him following an Elijah Suanders three to give the Terrapins a 53-47 lead.
Despite the result, the game was ultimately closer than the final score, as Maryland gave Michigan quite a challenge.
Key Team Stats
- Michigan shot 75% from the field in the second half, a 25% increase from their first half.
- Maryland shot 33% from the free-throw line in the second half, their lowest in a half this season
- The Wolverines outscored the Terrapins in fastbreak points (24-5) and in the paint (44-26).
- 28 of Michigan's 58 field goals were assisted.
- The Terrapins outrebounded the Wolverines 29-26
More from Maryland On SI
Stay up to date with the Terrapins by bookmarking Maryland On SI.
Temwa is a sports communicator and storyteller with experience in college athletics, digital media, and game-day communications. He began his journalism work covering local sports before taking on roles with the University of Maryland Athletics Department and the Baltimore Orioles, where he contributed to content creation and media operations. Temwa also builds his own sports media presence, creating coverage that highlights athletes, teams, and their communities.