Maryland Pulls Away In 62-39 Win Over Penn State
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Maryland had a 6-foot-10 difference-maker to help pull away from cold-shooting Penn State.
Center Jordan Williams had 15 points and 11 rebounds and the Terps overcame a slow start in a sloppy 62-39 win on Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Dino Gregory, Sean Mosley and Terrell Stoglin had 10 points each for Maryland (6-2), playing their first true road game of the season. They had 12 first-half turnovers -- six alone in the first five minutes -- Wednesday, but held Penn State to 14 of 68 shooting (21 percent) on the night.
Penn State missed 54 shots -- or seven more than taken by Maryland all night (23 of 47 for 49 percent). The Terps held a comfortable 19-point lead by midway through the second half.
"We had to play more intense defense," Williams said. "In the second half, we knew what they were going to do and we adjusted to it really well. That's why we pushed the lead up as far as we did."
Talor Battle had 21 points for the Nittany Lions (5-2) in what was billed as the school's biggest home nonconference game since the Jordan Center opened in 1996. It was a missed opportunity for a team trying to build interest on campus and momentum following an 11-20 campaign last year.
"Definitely, definitely, we're disappointed, but like I keep reiterating, you've got to move on," Battle said. "Now we've got to get the rest of the nonconference games and win some big games in conference play."
Both sides were sloppy, but Maryland clamped down defensively, and the Nittany Lions couldn't hit shots when open. Williams and Stoglin combined for 12 points in a 14-2 run to open a 19-point lead midway through the second half.
Williams posted his sixth double-double of the season. He was a handful up front, especially in the second half against a Penn State frontline in foul trouble much of the night.
After falling behind 7-0 early, the Terps controlled the tempo with tough defense and physical play on Battle, the Nittany Lions' do-everything guard.
"Penn State did a good job of coming out and sticking it to us," Maryland coach Gary Williams said.
Coach Ed DeChellis' club was active on the boards, finishing with 20 offensive rebounds, including 12 in the first half. But the Nitttany Lions managed just eight second-chance points all night, and just 10 off the Terps' 17 total turnovers.
Penn State also shot just 11 percent (3 of 27) from the 3-point arc.
Leading 35-28 with 11:45 left, Jordan Williams followed a 3-point play by Stoglin with a dunk on the break off a steal by Mosley.
The athletic center sliced through the lane for another layup, before Dino Gregory's dunk off a turnover by Battle capped the run to give the Terps a 49-30 lead with 8:09 left.
"Once we started getting rebounds we were better. We need to run, I think that's part of our offense and we can't do it unless we rebound better," Gary Williams said.
Maryland outrebounded Penn State 44-40, and held the Nittany Lions to 5 of 28 shooting (18 percent) after halftime.
Battle was the only Nittany Lion in double-figure scoring.
Forwards Jeff Brooks and David Jackson helped out in the 5-1 start, but were in foul trouble much of Wednesday night and combined for just eight points on 3 of 16 shooting. Brooks did have 10 rebounds.
"Halftime, I felt like we were OK," DeChellis said. "We were 22 percent (shooting) and had two of the guys playing a lot of minutes sitting on the bench. I just didn't think we would shoot that poorly in the second half."
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