Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 16 of his career-high 27 points in the first half to put Maryland in charge on its way to a 79-61 victory over No. 22 UCLA in Big Ten play on Friday night in College Park, Md.
Julian Reese produced 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Terrapins (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten) ended a two-game slide and got their first win this year over a ranked team.
Selton Miguel scored nine of his 11 points in the second half for the Terrapins, who took the lead midway through the first half and held it the rest of the way.
The Maryland defense forced UCLA to commit 21 turnovers. Gillespie had four steals as the Terrapins scored 26 points off the Bruins’ mistakes.
Tyler Bilodeau delivered 18 points for slumping UCLA (11-5, 2-3), which lost its third straight and fourth in its last five games. The lone win was against powerhouse Gonzaga.
The Bruins’ frustration showed with 5:11 left as coach Mick Cronin drew two technical fouls and an ejection. Gillespie followed with four free throws to push Maryland’s lead to 64-51.
In the final 4:01, Gillespie and Miguel drained 3-pointers as the Terrapins turned it into a runaway.
Trent Perry scored 10 points for the Bruins, who shot 41.5 percent from the floor and made 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, the Terrapins made 54 percent of their shots and 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from deep.
In the first half, UCLA bolted to an early lead before Maryland staged an 11-point burst that included two baskets from Gillespie and a three-point play from Derik Queen as the Terrapins grabbed a 20-13 lead.
A 9-2 Maryland spree, which Gillespie started with a triple and finished with a traditional three-point play, gave the Terrapins their biggest lead of the half at 38-28.
In the final 2:01 of the half, 3-pointers by Perry and Lazar Stefanovic helped UCLA slice the deficit to 40-36 at the break. But the Bruins got no closer in the second half.
-Field Level Media
