Friday, December 1, 2017 07:00 PM (ET)

Purdue opens Big Ten slate with win over Maryland

The Sports Xchange
Dec 1, 2017

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Isaac Haas and Dakota Mathias combined for 41 points to lead Purdue to an 80-75 win over Maryland Friday night at Xfinity Center in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.

Haas had 21 points, hitting 10-of-13 shots and his short jumper at 17:49 of the second half put Purdue ahead for good. Mathias had 20 points and nine assists for the Boilermakers (7-2, 1-0), who won their third straight game.

Anthony Cowan led Maryland with 20 points, including seven in the last minute to rally the Terrapins (6-3, 0-1) in a game they led for just 21 seconds. Cowan's three-point play, after his four-point play, brought Maryland within 78-75 with 42 seconds left.

Cowan got a steal, but Jared Nickens missed a 3-pointer to tie for the Terrapins, who have now lost three of their last four games after a 5-0 start. Kevin Huerter had 19 points for the Terps.

Maryland scored the first seven points of the second half and took a 44-43 lead -- their only lead of the night -- on Huerter's 3-pointer at 18:28, but then the Boilermakers ran off the next 10 points to lead 54-44 on Vincent Edwards' layup. Edwards had seven points in that run and finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Carsen Edwards added 18 points for Purdue.

Maryland never led again, but did close to within two points twice, the last time 7:24 on Justin Jackson's stickback to make it 62-60.

The Boilermakers hit 10 of their first 12 shots and would open a 14-point lead in the first half before the Terrapins rallied to close within 43-37 at the half. Maryland scored 10 of the last 12 points over the last 2:33 of the half. Mathias hit all seven of his shots from the field and had 18 points in pacing Purdue in the opening 20 minutes. The Boilermakers shot 65.4 percent for the half (17-of-26).

Purdue heads home to meet Northwestern Sunday, while the Terrapins travel to Illinois that day. Big Ten games tipped off early this year with the truncated schedule to play the conference tournament a week earlier in Madison Square Garden in New York.
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