Maryland Basketball: Anthony Cowan drops 30 as Terps move past Temple

Maryland basketball (6-0) pulled away late from the Temple Owls (4-1) in a hard-fought game. The Terps move on to the Orlando Invitational Semis to play the winner of Harvard-Texas A&M Friday morning at 11:30 on ESPN/ESPN2.

Coming into this early season tournament matchup, now fifth-ranked Maryland Basketball beat George Mason 86-63 for their ninth straight victory over the Patriots going back to the 2009-10 season.

They beat the Patriots behind a 16-point performance from Anthony Cowan Jr. on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 at the free-throw line. Aaron Wiggins followed behind his performance with 15 points and Jalen Smith finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Terps outrebounded them 46-33 in this game and got six extra offensive possessions with offensive rebounds. They are the 14th best rebounding team with an average of 43.80 per game.

Against Temple, as my colleague, Connor Gluck stated in his keys piece for this game, ball security for the Terps needed to be a top priority. Fortunately, their 14 turnovers didn’t cost them the game. Temple averages 11 steals per game this season.

Defensively the Terps had to pay close attention to guards Nate Pierre-Louis (15.8 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists, 3.5 steals per game) and Quinton Rose (15 PPG, three RPG, 1.5 SPG).

Rose got Temple started with a runner in the paint followed by a Cowan Jr. three-pointer. This Orlando Invitational battle of undefeated teams took off from there.

In the first few minutes of the game, both teams were scoring the ball well.

The Owls jumped out to an 11-5 lead after JP Moorman II and Rose three-pointers hit the bottom of the net. At the 15:41 mark, the Owls led 13-7 and were 3-of-6 from the three-point line.

While the Owls were knocking down threes, the Terps were struggling from out there and the Owls defense did a solid job of protecting the paint as well.

The Terps got back into the game with a three-pointer and an end-to-end fast-break sprint to the basket by Cowan Jr.

A 9-0 run tied the game at 16 with a little over 12 minutes to go in the first half.

At the 6:09 mark, the Owls had a 24-18 lead and of their 25 attempted shots in the game to this point, 17 of them were threes. That shot was an emphasis for both teams given that getting the ball inside was difficult.

A Cowan Jr. dribble-drive layup cut Temple’s lead to three, 26-23. Both teams played well defensively and the Terps settled into their style of play after the Owls got out to a fast start.

The Owls ended the half on a 9-3 run and a last-second dribble-drive layup by Alani Moore II gave them a 34-29 lead.

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Moorman II had 10 points and four rebounds. Moore II had 10 points and three assists and Rose had seven points and six assists.

Cowan Jr. had 10 points. Smith and Makhi Mitchell were held to four points and five rebounds. A credit to what Temple was able to do defensively.

Maryland basketball took its first lead 38-37, three minutes into the second half after leading 3-2 at the start of this matchup.

Temple did a great job of making the hustle plays. Bringing down rebounds, pushing the ball in transition and protecting the rim.

Cowan Jr. gave the Terps a 49-44 lead with 12:26 left in the game. He led the game in scoring with 21 points and three assists to this point.

Down the stretch, the game was tied at 57 and defense was going to decide who moved on to play the winner of Harvard and Texas A&M. Lead changes were a common theme.

Cowan hit a corner three giving the Terps a three-point lead. A defensive hold was paramount for the Terps under two minutes to go. Moore II got an easy three-pointer with little to no pressure as the game was still in the balance 70-67. Eric Ayala on the other end gave the Terps a two-possession lead after converting a layup opportunity.

The Terps came away with a 76-69 victory in their toughest test of the season. They are now 6-0 behind Cowan Jr.’s 30 points and four assists. Moore II led Temple with 22 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Maryland basketball fought tooth and nail to get back in this game and have been notorious for second-half surges to win games this season.

Cowan Jr. willed the Terps to victory and his presence on the court was felt. This performance early in the season proves why he was named in the top 10 of ESPN writer John Gasaway’s top 25 college basketball players list of 2019-20.

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Temple played the Terps tough all game and they could prove to be a tough out for any team come NCAA Tournament time.

This was only the beginning of what the Orlando Invitational has to offer and it should be fun to watch.

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