Early this year, when a depleted Maryland team was trying to get by with seven scholarship players, coach Mark Turgeon joked that games should last only 20 minutes.
That sentiment applied for different reasons Tuesday night at Comcast Center as a full-strength Maryland squad followed its best half of basketball this season with its worst. But after nearly blowing a 23-point lead, the Terrapins regained their composure behind their least-experienced player.
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In his third college game, 7-foot-1 freshman Alex Len scored eight points in the final 7 minutes, 23 seconds to rescue Maryland from embarrassment against Cornell. Maryland won its seventh straight, 70-62, but not without breaking a considerable sweat.
“It came so easy for us, we quit guarding. We showed our immaturity,” Turgeon said. “We didn’t know how to deal with success.”
After failing to score a field goal for a span of 12 minutes, 34 seconds, Maryland (10-3) needed to get baskets the hard way. Len (15 points, nine rebounds, three blocks) did it, muscling for a pair of three-point plays and a put-back.
Sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin (14 points, four assists) added a 3-pointer with 1:46 left, and Maryland was true at the free-throw line in the final 31 seconds, making all six of its free throws, including four by sophomore point guard Pe’Shon Howard.
“One thing we have to shore up is our shot selection,” Turgeon said. “And our turnovers were atrocious.”
It was a shocking turn of events after Maryland scored the game’s first 16 points and rolled to a 28-5 lead behind Sean Mosley (19 points, six rebounds). Cornell (4-9) rallied behind guards Chris Wroblewski (15 points) and Devin Cherry (14 points).
As Cornell heated up and switched defenses effectively, Maryland went stone cold. Freshman Nick Faust made one of 11 shots. Cornell whittled the deficit to one point on four occasions, but Maryland wouldn’t yield.
“We’ve figured out how to execute and win close games,” Turgeon said. “We might just have to get our tail kicked to [learn].”
