Maryland men’s basketball uses big second half to knock off No. 3 Purdue at the Xfinity Center, 68-54

In front of a packed Xfinity Center crowd, Jahmir Young sprinted up the floor off an inbounds pass and uncorked a three pointer in the face of a Purdue defender. Young connected on the contested three, giving the Terps an 18 point lead, their largest of the night. 

Young and the Terps held onto their advantage, upsetting No. 3 Purdue 68-54, extending their win streak to 11 straight at home in conference play. The win was also the Terps first win over a top five team at home since they defeated Iowa in 2016. 

“It just shows you how difficult things are in Maryland. Maryland has been really really good for our conference,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “But they’ve been really building a great team and they’ve been competitive. And Kevin’s been doing a great job.” 

Young’s 20 points, five rebounds and four assists marked another dominant Big Ten performance. Coming into the matchup, he averaged 18.1 points per game in the Big Ten. 

Sophomore forward Julian Reese added another impressive performance against Zach Edey, totaling 10 points and nine rebounds. He was tasked with guarding the 7-foot-4 big man and managed to stay out of foul trouble. 

“I’d take Julian [Reese] over any center in this league,” coach Kevin Willard said.

For Purdue, Braden Smith and Edey combined for 36 points, but the Boilermakers struggled to find another consistent scoring option. Maryland also limited Edey’s impact on the boards allowing the Terps to boast a 35-23 advantage. 

“We were giving up layups but that was kinda the game plan. Like we were okay with him [Braden Smith] going in there and shooting layups. So I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that we made them work.”

Entering the second half down three, Maryland put the pedal to the metal, boat racing Purdue in the final 20 minutes of play.

Four minutes into the second half, Willard called a timeout after Purdue went up eight points, its largest lead of the night to that point. Smith and Edey were leading the way with a combined 27 points, while all other Boilermakers had 10 combined. 

Maryland would respond, sparking a 10-0 run, forcing Painter to take a timeout just over six minutes into the second half with the crowd re-energized. The run gave Maryland a 39-37 lead, shifting the momentum. 

At the 11:13 mark, the run extended to 16-3 and Young and Reese were on fire. As a team, Maryland made its last seven from the floor, while Purdue was just one for its last seven. 

Hakim Hart drilled a corner three with 9:06 to play, giving the Terps a nine-point lead. On the following possession, junior guard Ian Martinez finished an acrobatic layup through contact, putting the Terps up double digits.

“It was really just playing our game,” Young said. “We’re going to enjoy this but it’s getting back to work tomorrow. Especially just being able to do it at home. It’s just a special moment” 

Purdue had no answers for Maryland’s full court press and the Terps scoring onslaught continued. With 6:14 to go, Edey was held scoreless since the 16:19 mark in the second half and Maryland amassed a 58-43 lead. 

Edey eventually got back on track but it was too late to spark a comeback. The Boilermakers got the deficit as low as 11, but the Terps hung on to close the game out.

While Maryland came out firing in the second half, a back-and-forth start to the game set the course for a thrilling finish.

In the opening five minutes of play, Reese and Edey found themselves in a familiar position. Similar to the last matchup between Maryland and Purdue on Jan. 22, both big men traded buckets and tried to outmatch the other’s physicality in the early going.

After six minutes Edey was subbed out and Hart drove into the paint, getting a floater to go through contact. Hart converted the free throw and Maryland jumped out to its first lead of the game 9-8. 

Both teams taking turns with the lead ensued from there, with the Xfinity crowd chanting and waving their towels — decorated with the Maryland flag — while also chastising the Boilermakers on every offensive possession. Senior forward Patrick Emilien came off the bench and nailed the Terps’ first three of the game, tying things up at 18. 

With under four minutes to go, Purdue continued to respond to the Terps aggression but it was Smith carrying the offensive while shooting perfect from the floor. His eight first half  points matched his total from the entirety of the earlier matchup. 

Maryland endured a three minute scoring drought late in the first half, but with a minute left, Young ended the dry spell with two free throws and followed it up with a converted and-one layup over Edey. 

Purdue entered halftime leading 28-25, but they squandered away the lead with 14:43 remaining, opening the door for the Terps.

Maryland was also leading the battle on the glass 17-16 and held Edey to just three first half boards. Purdue entered the game with a 11.7 rebounding margin per game, another metric ranking first in the nation. 

Despite a close affair to begin the game, the Terps outscored Purdue 43-26 in the second half, grabbing yet another convincing conference victory at home.

“I knew we were going to win so not a surprise to me,” Willard said. “This is one of the best programs in the country and it’s important for the fan base. I thought it was important for students to kind of just understand what this program is really all about.”