COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Anthony Cowan Jr. hit a pivotal 3-pointer with 44 seconds left, and No. 19 Maryland edged Wisconsin 64-60 Monday night.
Back in the AP Top 25 for the first time since early December, the Terrapins marked the occasion with a strange hot-and-cold performance against a perennial Big Ten contender before emerging with their sixth straight win.
Maryland (15-3, 6-1) led by 10 after eight minutes and 38-17 with 17:47 remaining before the Badgers (11-6, 3-3) roared back to take a 60-59 lead with 2:01 to go.
Cowan turned it around with his long-range jumper, and the Terps held on after Wisconsin's Nate Reuvers missed two 3-pointers in the final 33 seconds.
Despite making only four of 14 shots, Cowan scored 21 points on the strength of 11-for-13 free-throw shooting. Freshmen Jalen Smith and Eric Ayala each scored 11 and Bruno Fernando had 10.
Wisconsin scored only 15 points in the first half on 7-for-26 shooting and was 0 for 10 from 3-point range before Reuvers ended the drought with 17:29 remaining.
After leading scorer Ethan Happ picked up his fourth foul with 10:38 left and Fernando made two free throws to make it 51-33, the Badgers looked done.
But Wisconsin roared back after Fernando was called for his fourth foul with 9:18 to go.
Using a stiff defense and long-overdue sharp shooting from beyond the arc, the Badgers went on a 24-6 run to pull even at 57 with three minutes remaining.
Reuvers scored a career-high 18 for Wisconsin. Happ finished with 10, half his season average. Maryland has still yet to allow an individual to secure a double-double this season.
Maryland got points from five different players and went 4 for 6 beyond the arc in bolting to a 24-10 lead. Cowan misfired on all five shots during the span, but his teammates went 8 for 11.
The Badgers went scoreless for nearly seven minutes before Happ made a put-back to snap a 9-0 run by the Terrapins.
But Cowan hit a jumper and Ayala followed with a 3-pointer to boost the margin to 17, and Fernando added four straight points to make it 33-13.
UP NEXT
Maryland: Faces Ohio State on the road Friday night. The Buckeyes have lost three straight following a 12-1 start.
