With No. 17 Illinois missing Kofi Cockburn, Maryland looked inside to Donta Scott who responded with a career-high 25 points to lead the Terps to an 81-65 Big Ten win Friday night in College Park, Md.
Fatts Russell contributed 15 points and seven rebounds while Qudus Wahab added 11 points as Maryland (10-9, 2-6 Big Ten) won for just the second time in its last seven games.
With Cockburn, the third-leading scorer and top rebounder in the Big Ten, out with a concussion, Maryland ruled inside. The Terps, who were outscored in the paint in each of their previous seven conference games, had 40 points in the lane while the Illini had 16.
Illinois (13-5, 6-2) was led by Alfonso Plummer, who hit five 3-pointers on his way to scoring 18 points. Jacob Grandison added 14 points and Trent Frazier had 13.
It was close throughout as neither team led by more than six points in the first 35 minutes. But with Scott driving relentlessly to the lane, Maryland pulled away.
Illinois grabbed a 58-57 lead with 7:55 left on a bucket by Andre Curbelo. But Julian Reese fed Eric Ayala for a backdoor layup to give Maryland the lead for good.
Then in the final seven minutes, Scott scored 13 of his points. Seven of those came on three straight possessions as the Terps gained a 66-60 lead. Scott, who opened the game on the bench, made 9 of 12 shots, helping the Terps to 52.8 percent accuracy for the game.
In a tight first half, neither team led by more than four points. Plummer used his quick-release to make four 3-pointers before the break. But Maryland countered with Scott who came off the bench to score 10 first-half points.
WIth Cockburn out, Wahab had success inside and delivered three baskets, all on putbacks, in the final five minutes of the half as Maryland grabbed a 37-35 advantage.
–Field Level Media
