Three Big Ten teams were in action on Saturday night as Maryland, Purdue and Northwestern all attempted to improve on their seasons. Purdue and Maryland looked to stay undefeated while Northwestern needed a bounce back victory after a tough loss to Creighton to make them 2-1.
Let’s take a look at how these three teams fared.
Game Of The Night
Maryland Terrapins 80, Bucknell Bison 78
Maryland was given a run for their money from the Bison, but ultimately came away with their fourth win of the season. Bucknell, who led by 15 at the half, fell to 0-4 on the season.
Maryland was led by a combination of four scorers, as starters Anthony Cowen, Kevin Huerter and Bruno Fernando each had 17, 16 and 14 points, respectively. Freshman Darryl Morsell provided 29 minutes and 15 points for the Terrapins off the bench and was a key factor in their huge comeback win.
Bucknell was led by Stephen Brown and Zach Thomas, who each had 23 and 17 points for the Bison and scored over half of the teams points. The Bison were out rebounded 41-26 and only got to the line for 11 free throw attempts, in comparison to Maryland’s 25.
After going down 50-35 at the half, Maryland came out hot in the second half and cut the lead down to just 1 with 11:57 left in the game. It was a tight game all the way to the wire when Anthony Cowen went 5-6 from the free throw line in the last minute and iced the game.
Maryland (4-0) is back in action on Monday night when they host Jackson State.
Bucknell (0-4) also plays again Monday night when they host winless Siena.
The Rest
Northwestern Wildcats 82, La Salle Explorers 74
The Northwestern Wildcats have had a slightly rocky start to the year, as they lost to unranked Creighton and struggled to get past Loyola and St. Peters. This was another close game, as the Explorers came back from a 46-24 halftime deficit and with 8 minutes left in the game pulled to within 7.
For the Wildcats, Bryant McIntosh and Scottie Lindsey led the way scoring with 21 and 20, respectively. The Wildcats shot great from the field, shooting 56 percent from inside the line and 12-21 (57%) from behind it. That is a promising statistic as Northwestern will be tough to beat if they can shoot the ball with that success.
For La Salle, Guard B.J Johnson was the only player in double figures, leading all scorers with 23. The rest of the points were evenly distributed through the other starters and reserves. The Explorers did not shoot as well as the Wildcats, shooting only 48 percent from the field and 5-21 from three (24%).
Northwestern controlled this game for the most part, but the comeback that La Salle mounted is something that cannot happen down the road. The Wildcats hit seven more 3-pointers than the Explorers and that proved to be the difference in this one.
Northwestern (3-1) is back in action Sunday against Texas Tech to finish up the Basketball Hall Of Fame Tipoff.
La Salle (3-1) also plays Sunday in the Tipoff classic as they take on a 3-1 Boston College.
Purdue Boilermakers 106, Fairfield Stags 64
In what can only be described as the blow out of the day in the Big Ten, the Purdue Boilermakers defeated the Fairfield Stags by 42 points. This one was never close, as Purdue was up 58-28 at the half
For the Boilermakers, Dakota Mathias and Vince Edwards had 23 and 21 points each and shot a combined 10-11 from three point range. Edwards also had 11 boards to complete the 20 and 10 double double. Purdue shot 51 percent from the field and an incredible 19-31 (61%) from deep. Much like Northwestern, when Purdue is hitting threes at this kind of rate, they are as good as anyone in the Big Ten.
For the Stags, Senior guard Tyler Nelson had 16 points and 6 rebounds. He is averaging 21 points per game through their first 3 games.
Purdue (4-0) takes the court again on Wednesday against Tennessee in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Fairfield (2-1) does not play again until Friday, as they host Jacksonville in the Wright State Tournament.