Freshman guard Anthony Cowan scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Maryland to a 62-56 win over Illinois on Saturday.
Maryland (16-2, 4-1 Big Ten) faced a better team than the one it beat by 25 points early in the season, but a sloppy second half from the Illini allowed the Terrapins to come back and hold off the lead for the final five minutes.
The Terrapins had a sluggish start, including a 3-for-13 first half from beyond the arc, but Maryland responded to shoot 43 percent from the field and 27 percent from 3-point range to make up for earlier mistakes.
Shooting wasn’t the only offensive area where Maryland controlled the pace, as the Terrapin bigs held a 32-14 advantage in the paint.
Melo Trimble and Jaylen Brantley each added 12 points. Trimble also added five rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Brantley had six rebounds.
Maverick Morgan led the way for Illinois (12-6, 2-3 Big Ten) with 15 points and five rebounds.
