Rutgers battled in the XFINITY Center, but fell short to No. 18 Maryland 90-81 to drop back to .500 on the season.
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Rutgers (12-12, 5-8 Big Ten) cut it to a 56-53 game with 14:03 remaining in the game following a 13-2 run. That was as far as the Scarlet Knights could cut it though as it had no answers for Maryland's Derik Queen who finished with a career-high 29 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists.
Dylan Grant recorded a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds for Rutgers while Dylan Harper contributed 20 points, for rebounds, and four assists. It was a tough day for Ace Bailey though as he was held to a season-low four points on 2-for-4 shooting and did not finish the game or play for most of the second half with what appeared to be an illness.
The Scarlet Knights struggled from the perimeter as it went 3-for-16 from three with Zach Martini making two of them in the first half.
Rutgers could not contain Queen in the first half as he tallied a double-double nearly 15 minutes into the game and went into halftime with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Terrapins had three other players finish with double figures as Rodney Rice scored 19 points while Selton Miguel netted 17 and Ja'K Gillespie had 14 points and five rebounds.
Rutgers was able to claw back into the game thanks in part to getting Maryland (18-6, 8-5 Big Ten) into foul trouble and going 26-for-31 from the free-throw line, but the Terrapins attacked the rim too and went 22-for-34 from the line.
Lathan Sommerville nearly recorded a double-double for Rutgers with 12 points and nine rebounds while Martini had 10 points and five rebounds.
It was a tough first half for Rutgers as Maryland led by as much as 15 points following a 3-pointer from Rice with 1:28 remaining, but the Scarlet Knights cut it to a 49-38 game heading into halftime following a buzzer-beating three from Martini.
Rutgers got off to a good start and led 14-7 with 13:37 remaining in the first half following a layup from Harper, but Maryland responded with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 16 with 11:58 left. Things did not get much better for the Scarlet Knights as the Terrapins took a 34-22 lead with 5:44 left following an 8-0 run.
Harper led the Scarlet Knights in the first half with 10 points and four rebounds while Bailey struggled and was held to four points while taking just three shot attempts. Lathan Sommerville tallied eight points and six rebounds while Grant had eight points.
Miguel led the scoring for the Terrapins in the first half with 14 points.
RHoops Play of the Day: Zach Martini shoots from way downtown to beat the buzzer and send Rutgers into halftime down by 11 points.
Up next: Rutgers will return to Jersey Mike's Arena on Wednesday to face Iowa at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on BTN.
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