Maryland will face the potent frontcourt of No. 12 Gonzaga on Tuesday night time within the Gamers Period males’s match in Las Vegas.
The Terrapins will do it, nonetheless, with Pharrel Payne again within the lineup.
The return of Payne this week is a shock contemplating that he was faraway from the ground on a stretcher after he suffered a hip damage at Marquette on Nov. 15.
There was hypothesis that Payne could be misplaced for the season, however he returned from a one-game absence to file 20 factors and eight rebounds on Monday as Maryland (5-1) rallied for a 74-67 victory over UNLV within the Terrapins’ opening sport of the match.
Up subsequent for Maryland is Gonzaga (6-0), which topped No. 8 Alabama 95-85 on Monday in its match opener.
The Bulldogs received by proudly owning the inside. The Crimson Tide had no reply inside for 6-foot-9 Graham Ike (21 factors, 11 rebounds) and 6-10 Braden Huff (18 factors, eight rebounds).
Gonzaga received the battle of the boards 48-36, had extra factors within the paint, 52-42, and hustled for extra second-chance factors, 25-10.
Few groups can match the expertise of Gonzaga.
That is Ike’s third season within the crew’s beginning lineup, whereas Huff turned a starter this 12 months after serving as a key rotation piece the final two seasons.
“We all know the place one another goes to be if we get doubled,” Ike mentioned of the Bulldogs’ cohesion. “We simply have full belief within the guys that they are gonna hit the photographs and we’re gonna make the performs.”
Becoming a member of them this season is Grand Canyon switch Tyon Grant-Foster, who had his finest sport along with his new crew Monday night time, delivering 21 factors and 7 rebounds.
“We have a variety of maturity, and I really feel like that is going to hold us a good distance with how exhausting we play,” mentioned Grant-Foster, who’s along with his fourth crew.
It was Gonzaga’s fourth win over an influence convention faculty and its second over a ranked crew. The entire Bulldogs’ wins have come by double digits.
“I really feel nice as a result of I believe there’s room for development,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few mentioned. “There’s a variety of stuff that I really feel like we have gotta clear up proper now. That I really feel provides us a better ceiling.”
Maryland struggled within the first half towards UNLV because it dedicated 15 turnovers. However the Terrapins recovered after the break, erasing a seven-point deficit.
“We had been discombobulated, which is what they needed,” Maryland coach Buzz Williams mentioned. “We made extremely poor choices, and we might by no means get in a rhythm.”
Darius Adams scored 15 factors, and David Coit, after lacking all however considered one of his first eight 3-point makes an attempt, drained a pair within the remaining three minutes to assist Maryland wrap it up.
Payne was a drive within the second half, as he made all 5 of his photographs from the ground in scoring 16 of his 20 factors.
–Discipline Stage Media
