A balanced scoring effort in which all five starters scored at least 13 points was enough for No. 24 Maryland to defeat Nebraska, 83-75, Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The loss snaps the Huskers’ four-game winning streak.
Derik Queen led Maryland with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Selton Miguel added 17, Ja’K Gillespie scored 15, Rodney Rice contributed 14 while Julian Reese tallied 13. The Terrapins were highly efficient offensively, hitting 58.5 percent of their shots overall and 63 percent of their shots in the second half. With Berke Buyuktuncel out, Maryland unsurprisingly dominated the paint and the boards. The Terrapins outrebounded Nebraska, 34-22, and outscored the Huskers in the free-throw lane, 42-26.
Despite battling the flu, Brice Williams notched 20 points for Nebraska. Juwan Gary led NU with 22 points while Andrew Morgan scored 15 points.
Maryland started strong, building a 16-8 lead five and a half minutes into the game. A Nebraska 6-0 run cut the Terps’ lead to two, and an 8-2 Husker run briefly put NU on top, 22-20. An 11-2 Maryland run toward the end of the first half gave the Terps control of the game and Maryland led 42-35 at halftime. Nebraska cut the lead to four points on several occasions in the second half and even down to a two-point deficit once, but in the end, the Terps held off the Huskers.
Nebraska now prepares to take on Northwestern in Evanston Sunday. Pregame coverage will begin at 1 p.m. with tipoff at 2 p.m. Sunday on KLIN.