MINNEAPOLIS _ Maryland had much to overcome Saturday afternoon at raucous Williams Arena. The No. 22 Terps were down by a dozen to Minnesota in the first half, and by nine early in the second half. They were over the foul limit with more than 12 minutes left in the game.
Led by a pair of cold-blooded freshmen, forward Justin Jackson and wing Kevin Huerter, as well as junior guard Melo Trimble, Maryland overcame the Gophers, their crowd and maybe even a trio of whistle-happy refs to win, 85-78, to match the school's best start since 1998-99.
Jackson finished with a career-high 28 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-5 from 3-point range, to go with 10 rebounds for Maryland (19-2, 7-1 Big Ten). Huerter had 19 points, hitting five of seven of his 3-pointers.
It was orchestrated down the stretch by Trimble, who after a quiet first half finished with 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while committing one turnover in 33 minutes. The victory, the Terps' sixth straight, helped Maryland stay tied with Wisconsin for first place in the conference.
The Terps matched the 19-2 start of the 1998-99 team. To end a stretch of four road games in five contests, Maryland plays at Ohio State on Tuesday.
Graduate transfer Akeem Springs led Minnesota (15-7, 3-6), which lost its fifth straight, with 23 points. Freshman forward Amir Coffey, whose 11 first-half points had helped the Gophers take the lead, did not score in the second half while being guarded mostly by Huerter.
With the game tied at 76 with 1:47 to go, the Terps took control. Huerter hit a 3-pointer and after Minnesota center Jordan Murphy scored and was fouled, his missed free throw kept Maryland in the lead. Jackson built on it with three subsequent free throws and Trimble secured the win with another pair.
Down by seven at halftime and by nine early in the second half, the Terps climbed back behind the outside shooting of Jackson and Huerter. Two 3-pointers by Huerter came during a 12-5 run that cut the deficit to 44-42.
After a three-point play by Minnesota center Reggie Lynch right before the under-16 minute timeout, a layup by redshirt sophomore Ivan Bender made it a three-point deficit, 47-44.
Jackson's fifth 3-pointer of the game _ on as many attempts _ cut the deficit to two, 49-47. But the Terps went over the foul limit with 12:12 remaining when junior guard Jaylen Brantley tried for a steal on a loose ball in the backcourt.
Springs hit both ends of a one-and-one, and after freshman guard Anthony Cowan made a tough drive at the end of the 30-second shot clock, Murphy made one of two free throws.
With his team trailing 54-52, Cowan made a steal and layup to tie the game at 54 with a little over 10 minutes left. The Terps took their first lead of the second half at 58-56 on a drive by Trimble with 8:32 to go.
In a span of nine possessions, there were two ties and six lead changes, the last coming when Huerter hit a 3-pointer to put Maryland up 63-61. The Terps had a chance to build on the lead, but senior center Damonte Dodd fumbled a perfect feed from Trimble into a turnover.
If that was a physical mistake, Dodd then made two straight mental gaffes, twice stepping in the lane before Murphy missed free throws, that gave the Murphy two extra free-throw tries and helped tie the game.
But the Terps eventually took control, not trailing after Trimble's layup gave them a 72-71 lead with 2:49 to go.
The Terps trailed by as many as 12 points midway through the first half.
After jumping out to a quick 8-2 lead, Maryland went cold, watched Minnesota score the first 13 points of a 19-1 run to take a 21-9 lead on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Dupree McBrayer.
Maryland eventually closed to within four, 23-19, after back-to-back 3-pointers by Jackson. Trailing 28-22 after a 3-pointer by Coffey, the Terps got it down to two on a baseline jumper by graduate transfer forward L.G. Gill and a breakaway layup by Trimble.
But two straight turnovers by Gill allowed the Gophers to close the half on a 5-0 run to extend the lead to seven, 33-26. It was the largest halftime deficit for the Terps in a Big Ten game this season. Maryland shot 10-for-28 in the first half, with several missed layups included in the a 6-for-19 showing on 2-pointers.
The Terps were 4-for-9 on 3-pointers, including Jackson making all three of his 3-point attempts. Jackson led Maryland with nine points at halftime, and Huerter added seven. Coffey led Minnesota with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.
