After senior guard Markus Howard combined for 91 points Thursday and Friday, No. 5 Maryland had all the answers to Howard’s scoring Sunday afternoon, containing him to just six points in the Golden Eagles’ 84-63 loss to the Terrapins.
The last time Howard only scored six points was March 6 at Seton Hall. The Chandler, Arizona, native had an uncharacteristic performance, going 1-for-12 from the field, missing all six 3-pointer attempts and even missing two free throws.
However, sophomore forward Brendan Bailey took over as the team’s primary scorer. He shot 5-for-1o from the field in the first half with three 3-pointers. The rest of his team was throwing up bricks, going 3-for-20.
Bailey, who played a team-high 37 minutes, ended with career-highs in points, field goals made, field goals attempted, 3-pointers, 3-pointers attempted and steals. The Salt Lake City, Utah, native recorded 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting and was 7-for-12 from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-8 forward contributed two steals and six rebounds, one shy of tying his career-best.
Other than Bailey, the only other significant offensive presence was redshirt senior Sacar Anim who notched 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Marquette kept up with Maryland for the first nine minutes. But after the Terrapins went on a 10-0 run, the Golden Eagles just couldn’t counter. Marquette often went four minutes or more without any scoring and shot 27% in the first half.
MU didn’t get much help from the bench, which contributed just four points Sunday.
Coming into the second half, it looked as if Maryland would take an enormous lead with the Terrapins’ largest advantage at 50-26. However, Marquette fought back to bring the score within 12 at the 6:14 mark. Despite MU’s 42 points in the second on 52% shooting, it was not enough.
Maryland stormed back, extending its lead to 21 points with 32 points in the paint. The Terrapins out-rebounded Marquette 40-30. Graduate transfer Jayce Johnson had a season-high 19 minutes, adding a team-high 11 rebounds. He also had three points.
The Golden Eagles struggled to defend Maryland’s Anthony Cowan, who finished with a team-high 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting, four assists and three steals.
Once again, turnovers posed a problem for Marquette as Maryland forced 16 Golden Eagle turnovers, which turned into 28 Terrapin points.
Head coach Steve Wojciechowski and the Golden Eagles (5-2) return home to face the Jacksonville Dolphins at Fiserv Forum Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. Central Standard Time.
This story was written by Zoe Comerford. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @zoe_comerford.
