MINNEAPOLIS — Donta Scott scored 16 points and Maryland dominated the first 30 minutes of play in a 65-51 victory over Rutgers on the first day of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night at Target Center.
Maryland scored the first 11 points and later had a 10-0 run in a dominant first half. The Terps shot 44% in the half, made 8 of 10 free throws and had a 10-2 advantage in fastbreak points on the way to a 36-22 halftime lead.
Maryland was even hotter after halftime, scoring 26 points on 56% shooting through the first 12 minutes to build a 62-36 lead.
The Terrapins then went stone cold, scoring three points on 1-for-8 shooting with eight turnovers in the last 8 minutes. But they still shot 42% for the half and 43% for the game.
Rutgers finished the game on an 11-0 run in the final 3 minutes, with Gavin Griffiths scoring eight points.
Julian Reese scored 12 points and Jahmir Young and Jamie Kaiser Jr. each scored 11 for Maryland (16-16). Young also had eight rebounds and seven assists.
Griffiths finished with 16 points and Aundre Hyatt had 13 off the bench for the Scarlet Knights (15-17).
With Maryland the No. 12 seed and Rutgers No. 13, the game was a matchup of teams that faltered down the stretch. Rutgers lost six of seven games to finish the regular season and Maryland had lost five of six and eight of 10.
Maryland advances to play fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday.
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