COLLEGE PARK, Md. _ There was No. 6 Maryland, struggling to score early and falling behind another mid-major opponent midway through the first half Friday night at Xfinity Center. There was senior point guard Anthony Cowan Jr., not looking to score early and then picking up his second personal foul with a tick under 12 minutes left in the half.
In a game that started a tougher schedule where Terps coach Mark Turgeon promised that his team would be "playing for the keeps," Maryland and its enigmatic floor leader woke up late in the first half against George Mason. Cowan and an equally dormant Jalen Smith led their team on a 19-2 run to take a 12-point halftime lead and cruise to an 86-63 victory over the previously unbeaten Patriots.
Cowan, who scored his first point with 7:43 left in the first half, led Maryland with 16 points. Sophomore wing Aaron Wiggins finished with a season-high 15, tying his career-high. Smith, who didn't score until there were nearly three minutes left in the first half, wound up with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Freshman Makhi Mitchell had career highs of 12 points and eight rebounds.
Redshirt junior center A.J. Wilson led George Mason (5-1) with a game-high 19.
Leading 43-31 at halftime, the Terps missed several close shots to start the second half that allowed the Patriots to stick around and cut their deficit into single digits several times early in the half. George Mason has been playing without three-year starter Justin Keir since the starter of the season and lost valuable sixth man Ian Boyd for the entire season.
After a 3-point shot by sophomore guard Jordan Hartwell cut Maryland's lead to 49-40, Cowan started what became a 10-3 run with a pair of free throws. It was followed by a dunk by sophomore forward Ricky Lindo Jr. on a neat feed from freshman wing Hakim Hart, a 3-point play by Cowan and a pair of free throws by forward Makhi Mitchell.
The Terps continued their season-long struggle with 3-point shooting, finishing 6 of 22. But after hitting just 14 of 25 free throws in Tuesday's 74-55 win over Fairfield and dropping to 65.6% for the season, Maryland made 30 of 38 from the foul line, including 7 of 8 by Cowan. Overall, Maryland shot a season-low 40.3% from the field (25 of 62).
Maryland will now have nearly a week off before its next game, against Temple in the first round of the Orlando Invitational on Thanksgiving Day. The Terps will also find out next week whether freshman Chol Marial, a 7-foot-2 center from South Sudan, will get cleared medically to begin practicing after undergoing surgery to repair stress fractures in both shins on Sept. 4.
