Maryland marches past Fairleigh Dickinson, 75-50

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) Maryland scored 24 consecutive first-half points to turn a close game against Fairleigh Dickinson into a blowout, and the short-handed Terrapins got 12 points and 15 rebounds from Kevin Huerter in a 75-50 victory Thursday night.

[btn-post-package-v2]

After letting an eight-point lead dwindle to 20-19, Maryland (11-3) kept the Knights scoreless for more than eight minutes. Bruno Fernando led the charge with seven points, and Huerter and Anthony Cowan scored six apiece.

Fairleigh Dickinson (3-8) went 0 for 10 from the floor with four turnovers during the dry spell and trailed 46-23 at halftime. Huerter made all four of his shots in the first half, helping Maryland go 15 for 21 (71 percent).

The Terrapins were without three players who had a combined 27 starts this season: Justin Jackson (shoulder soreness), Michal Cekovsky (illness) and Dion Wiley (ankle soreness). It was the third straight game that Jackson sat out, the other two because of illness.

Maryland did, however, get back Fernando, a 6-foot-10 freshman who missed the previous two games with a sprained ankle. Fernando had 11 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes.

Darryl Morsell and Anthony Cowan each contributed 13 points to help the Terps win their fifth straight.

Darian Anderson led the Knights with 17 points. Fairleigh Dickinson has lost six in a row and is 0-7 against Maryland in a series that began in 1980.

This one turned just after the midpoint of the first half, when Terps coach Mark Turgeon called a timeout after FDU used a 15-7 surge to get within a point.

Ivan Bender got the Terps started with a basket in the lane. Cowan made three free throws, Huerter and Jared Nickens nailed 3-pointers and Fernando added a field goal and two free throws for a 16-point cushion.

It was 44-19 before the Knights finally ended their scoring drought at 8 minutes, 13 seconds on a basket by Noah Morgan off an offensive rebound.

BIG PICTURE

Fairleigh Dickinson: Two years removed from winning the Northeast Conference, the Knights are rebuilding with a starting lineup that has two freshmen and only one senior. Coach Greg Herenda can only hope the young unit jells when conference play starts next month.

Maryland: Though the result was never in doubt, the Terrapins showed their mettle by winning comfortably without three key players. Turgeon had the opportunity to go deep on his bench, and he was rewarded with an impressive display of teamwork: Six players scored in double figures and Maryland shot 48 percent from the floor.

UP NEXT

Fairleigh Dickinson: At LIU-Brooklyn on Dec. 29.

Maryland: Faces Maryland-Baltimore County on Dec. 29 to end a run of five straight non-conference home games.