Cowan’s career night zooms Maryland past Butler

Feature photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

Not only did the undefeated Maryland Terrapins (3-0) prove that they could handle their first test, they showed the 16,000 fans draped in black that Butler (2-1) never really had a chance.

Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said that the Bulldogs were a really well-coached team but he was really impressed with the way his team performed as the Terps beat Butler 79-65.

“Really proud of my team,”  Turgeon said. “That was a high level game and we played with great energy.”

Anthony Cowan Jr. had his first career double-double, scoring a career high 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.    

Turgeon said Cowan was impressive on both sides of the ball.

“He guarded like crazy and didn’t even look tired to me.” Turgeon said. “I think he is really getting a feel of how to run the team. ”

Cowan’s highlight 3-point shot that came when Maryland had only a 7-point lead lifted the Xfinity Center and teammates to an uproar, and he said that he was not afraid to shoot.

“I felt good,” Cowan said. “I wasn’t really tired, I saw the timer go down slowly… I was far enough, so I thought, why not shoot?”

Within two minutes of the game, the Bulldogs’ sophomore guard Kamar Baldwin Bulldogs hit a 2-point jumper after the Terps forward Justin Jackson’s turnover. Cowan had his first foul and the Maryland native, Dion Wiley, missed his three point shot within the first five minutes of the game creating a slow start for Maryland.

Soon after, the Terps got into their rhythm when Michal Cekovsky scored the first two points with a dunk assisted by sophomore guard Kevin Huerter. Thirty seconds after having his first two points on the board, Cekovsky gets another dunk, assisted again by Huerter, causing Maryland to only trail by two. After receiving an assist from Bruno Fernando, Dion Wiley hits a three pointer from the arc giving the Terps their first lead of the night.     

Maryland’s pace slowed down with turnovers from Fernando and freshman guard Darryl Morsell, causing the Bulldogs to up the lead by five points with less than fifteen minutes left in the game. Maryland got back into the swing of things with a defensive rebound from Cowan creating an open dunk opportunity for Fernado, tying the score 15-15. With 10 minutes left in the game, Huerter’s 3-point shot gives the Terps their second lead of the night, making the score 20-18.

Huerter finished the night with nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Maryland showed their paws with steals from Fernando, Jackson, and blocks from Huerter and Morsell. They had six steals and seven blocks collectively. Butler lost the lead and trailed by13 points going into the half.

In the second half, the Bulldogs couldn’t keep up with the pace and finesse of the Terps. Starting the half off with a defensive rebound and a 3-pointer, Wiley had 11 points along with three rebounds.

Maryland finished the second half strong and maintained a 10-point lead that would be eclipsed for the rest of the game. Although, the Terrapins had twenty turnovers, and was 16-for-23 at the free throw line, the Terps manage to take home the victory over Butler.

Maryland will host Bucknell Saturday Nov. 18, the third home game of the season.