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Minnesota gets revenge in 89-75 upset over No. 24 Maryland

The Terrapins defeated the Gophers in the teams’ earlier matchup.
Gophers guard Dupree McBrayer puts his hand up to block a shot against Wisconsin on Jan. 21, 2017, at Williams Arena.
Image by Carter Jones
Gophers guard Dupree McBrayer puts his hand up to block a shot against Wisconsin on Jan. 21, 2017, at Williams Arena.

The Gophers’ last loss came to the Terrapins at Williams Arena on Jan. 28.

The team got its revenge in College Park, Maryland Wednesday.

Minnesota upset No. 24 Maryland 89-75 and the Gophers increased their win streak to six games.

“I do think if you looked at us now versus then, we’re much more confident,” head coach Richard Pitino told reporters. “We’re tougher. We were not a very confident group [on Jan. 28] versus Maryland.”

Guard Dupree McBrayer led the team in scoring off the bench, with 18 points on 6-8 shooting. He went 3-5 from beyond the arc.

“It’s good to see [McBrayer] get back in his groove,” Guard Nate Mason told reporters. “I got on him a little bit, telling him ‘play your game.’”

The Gophers shot 50 percent from the field and made 17-20 free throws. Maryland shot 41.1 percent and went 8-13 from the line.

The Terrapins went through a scoring drought where the team did not get a basket for three minutes, 21 seconds in the second half. Minnesota took a 10-point lead during that stint.

Guard Akeem Springs had his best scoring performance since four games ago.

Springs scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting, including 4-7 from beyond the arc.

Springs started the game on a hot streak and went 3-4 with two made 3-point shots to start the game.

“[Springs] came out on fire,” McBrayer told reporters. “He came back in and got (hot), and then I got on fire. That’s kind of like taking turns.”

The Terrapins’ leading scorer on the season was also held in check. Guard Melo Trimble scored just 11 points on 4-12 shooting after coming into the game averaging 17.6. However, his six assists were a game-high.

The Terrapins had four dunks and scored 24 of their 33 points in the paint during the first, taking a 35-34 lead into halftime.

Power Forward Jordan Murphy scored zero points in the first half on 0-4 shooting, but he did not miss a shot in the second. Murphy scored 15 points on 5-9 shooting for the whole game. He also grabbed eight boards.

Murphy put Minnesota up 75-62 in the second half when he pump-faked under the rim and made a basket as he was fouled.

Forward Amir Coffey put the Gophers up by 15 with 1:18 left when he cut to the basket on a fast break and dunked the ball after being fouled. Coffey finished his three-point play with a made free throw.

Maryland’s Justin Jackson scored 28 points against the Gophers in the teams’ first matchup of the season. This game, Jackson scored just 10 points.

Springs was responsible for all seven points during a run from the Gophers early in the first half. A 10-0 run by Maryland helped the Terrapins take a lead 21-17.

Minnesota’s next game is at home against Penn State (14-14, 6-9 Big Ten), a team that also beat the Gophers earlier in the year.

One more win for Minnesota will clinch a winning record in Big Ten play for the first time since 2004.

“That’s it, we’ve got to accept it, we’re a good team,” Pitino told reporters. “It’s nice now that we can kind of put the tournament talk to bed.”

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