Coming off a big win over UCLA, Maryland trailed at halftime before using a 14-4 run to take the lead in the 77-71 victory over Minnesota.
Derik Queen led the Terps with 27 points (career-high) and seven rebounds. This was the 13th straight game Queen has scored in double-digits.
Maryland improved to 3-3 in the Big Ten and 13-4 overall.
Minnesota is still winless (0-6) in Big Ten play and 8-9 overall. Dawson scored 21 points for the Golden Gophers.
Queen Dominates Second-Half
Maryland was down by three at halftime, in part because it forgot about the advantage it had at the power forward and center positions.
The Terps shot 3-12 from the three-point line despite Queen (4-7 from the field in the first half) already starting to dominate the game.
That wasn't an issue in the second half.
Head coach Kevin Willard got the ball to Queen at the free-throw line extended, where he could dominate off one or two dribbles. Once Queen got a taste of being more of the focus in the second half, he actively attacked his defender, leading to seven second-half free-throw attempts.
Overall, Queen finished 10-15 from the field and 7-8 from the line.
Rice Out of Shooting Slump
Rodney Rice went 6-19 from the field in the last two games of December.
January has been entirely different. When Maryland plays quicker and establishes Queen and/or Julian Reese inside, the floor opens up for Rice because defenses are still in rotation.
The Virginia Tech transfer was 5-10 from the floor and 7-7 from the free-throw line tonight, finishing the night with 21 points.
Opponents are running Rice off the three-point line, so it was important that he was 3-3 from two. Rice will need to continue to make the correct decision when teams try to take the three-pointer away from him.
Second-Half Defense on Garcia
Garcia was a one-man wrecking crew for the Golden Gophers in the first 20 minutes. He had 12 points in the first half on 4-7 shooting (2-3 from the three-point line), but the Terps pressure forced him to make four turnovers.
In the second half, Garcia started wearing down. He shot 2-6 and spent the half in foul trouble. "Garcia was in foul trouble, and so they were just telling me [to] attack him," Queen said.