Thanks to the heroics of a late bucket by junior forward Donta Scott, Maryland ended its three-game losing streak and defeated No. 20 Florida, 70-68, Dec. 12 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Showing some low-post moves in the process, Scott, who finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds, leaned in for a shot and netted it with 16.8 seconds left in the game to give the Terps a 2-point lead. The Gators had one last chance to tie or take the lead but missed a 3-pointer as time expired.

The win marked Maryland’s first since the mutual departure of head coach Mark Turgeon and with Danny Manning as the interim head coach.

Maryland’s starting backcourt of Eric Ayala and Fatts Russell led the way in scoring by each netting 19 points for the Terps. Production from both guards was a welcomed revelation for the Maryland offense, which has struggled to start the season. But the Terps weren’t struggling to score on Sunday, hitting 49% of their shots and going 8-for-13 from beyond the arc.

And while the offense showed vast improvement and the defense was solid, holding Florida to just 38% shooting, it wasn’t all pretty for the Terps, who turned the ball over 15 times and allowed the Gators to score 20 points off of those mistakes.

Once again it was guards that Maryland struggled to defend as Phlandrous Fleming and Tyree Appleby led the Gators in scoring with 15 points apiece. Fleming added 11 rebounds to his totals while Appleby hit 5 threes. However, the good news was that the Terps found a way to hold Florida’s star forward Colin Castleton to a season-low 9 points.

While it was Maryland’s first win over a ranked non-conference opponent since beating No. 13 Iowa State, 72-63, on Nov. 25, 2014 in Kansas City, Florida was likely to lose its spot in the rankings even if it beat the Terps.

The Gators’ week got off to a rough start as they lost to a winless Texas Southern team by 15 points. Even though they followed that up with an easy win at home against North Florida, the loss to the Terps will likely put Florida on the outside looking in at the Top 25.

Florida has a few more tune-up games to try to right the ship before getting into the thick of its conference schedule, as does Maryland, which hosts Loyola-Maryland and Brown in its next two outings.

The Terps will want to carry the momentum they’ve built with a win over a ranked opponent into these very winnable games so that they can work out their kinks before continuing Big Ten play. Maryland is already 0-1 within the conference after a disappointing loss to Northwestern and resumes its Big Ten schedule with consecutive tough road matchups against Iowa and Illinois. The Terps will then travel back home to host Wisconsin.

A gauntlet lies ahead of Maryland. It doesn’t get any easier moving forward, as a Big Ten schedule will test even the toughest teams. But the win over Florida couldn’t have come at a better time and could be the shot in the arm the Terps needed.

While Florida isn’t exactly trending up at the moment, they’re a well-coached team that has shown glimpses of brilliance at times this season, winning at Florida State and Ohio State already.

Confidence can go a long way in sports and for a second there it seemed like Maryland could be losing all of its confidence heading into a bear of a schedule. But a win was just what the doctor ordered and now the Terps can feel better about themselves before finishing up their non-conference schedule and then ramping up the competition.

The shots finally started to fall for Maryland but the Terps need to start protecting the ball better and could really use more production from its frontcourt before taking on the Big Ten. Ball movement is also an issue, as the Terps managed just 9 assists on 24 made field goals against the Gators.

Loyola-Maryland and Brown should be two opponents that allow Maryland a chance to focus on these areas of improvement. The Terps should be taking absolutely no one lightly at this point, but their goals are still in front of them and an opportunity to build momentum presents itself.

Ayala and Russell need to continue to lead this team and Scott needs to build off of his game-winner to start playing like the guy many expected him to be this year. If his fellow Philadelphia native Hakim Hart can continue his breakout and Qudus Wahab plays up to his capability in the post, this Maryland team should have a heck of a starting lineup that presents a threat to any team.

Although it has sort of felt like it at times already this season, the Maryland basketball season is not over, not even close. A winning streak here and a strong start to Big Ten play can turn things around and keep this Terps team relevant.

Pat Donohue
Pat Donohue

Terps Analyst

Pat has been covering sports in the DMV area since 2012. He is a former Washington Redskins beat reporter for PressBoxDC.com and has been covering University of Maryland football and basketball recruiting and daily beats for Rivals.com’s Terrapin Sports Report since 2013. Pat graduated from College Park with his master’s degree in journalism and has received bylines in publications such as USA TODAY Sports, The Philadelphia Inquirer, SB Nation, and Yahoo! Sports. A Philadelphia native, Pat enjoys fishing, golfing, and playing fantasy sports when he’s not covering or watching a game.

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