LAS VEGAS, NV — Less than 24 hours after a gritty win over UNLV in the Geico Players Era Men's Championship Tournament, Maryland (5-2) fell 100-61 to No. 12 Gonzaga as the Bulldogs improved to 7-0 on the young season.
Pharrel Payne posted 14 points and seven rebounds while
Darius Adams contributed 13 points. Adams has scored in double figures in five straight games and Payne has scored 10+ in every game he's played in this season.
Andre Mills scored 11 points on a night that included an acrobatic shot from the floor. He's now scored in double figures five times in 2025.
Gonzaga hit its first eight field goals of the second half, including 3-of-3 from three-point range, to put the game out of hand. The Zags finished shooting 57.8% (37-of-64) from the floor in the game and 42.4% (14-of-33) from three. Braeden Huff led Gonzaga with 20 points, shooting 9-of-10 from the floor.
Maryland will compete one more time in the Geico Players Era Men's Championship Tournament on Wednesday. The opponent, game time and TV network will be determined following the conclusion of Tuesday's action.
How It Happened:
1st Half:
- Payne banged in a layup for Maryland's first points.
- Payne added a hook shot early.
- Gonzaga used a 12-2 run to build a lead midway through the half as Elijah Saunders got on the board with a jumper.
- Mills threw up his first points from a sitting position.
- Isaiah Watts hit Maryland's first three with six minutes to play in the frame.
- Adams drained a three late in the first half.
- Maryland gained momentum with a 16-4 run.
- Payne reached double figures in the closing minutes.
- Gonzaga led 47-32 at the break.
2nd Half:
- Adams drained a three for the Terps' first points of the half.
- Mills hit a three-point basket early in the frame.
- Coit got a jumper to fall midway through the period.
- Gonzaga hit its first eight shots from the floor to pull away.
- The Zags took Tuesday's contest 100-61.
Double-Digit Days:
- Payne (14 points) has scored 10+ points in all six games he's played in this season and 49 times in his collegiate career.
- Adams (13 points) has scored in double figures in six of seven games this season and each of his past five.
- Mills (11 points) recorded his fifth double-digit game of his career.
Going Against Gonzaga:
- The Bulldogs and Terps met for the fifth time on Tuesday and for the first time since 2008 with the Zags now leading the all-time series, 4-1.
- Each all-time meeting has come at a neutral site.
- Maryland's only win over Gonzaga came as an 87-63 victory in 1995, which was the largest win by either team in the history of the season entering Tuesday.
Numbers to Know:
- 6: Payne has scored in double-figures in all six games he has played this season.
- 14: The Terps grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to Gonzaga's 13.
- 46: Adams has made 46 free throws through his first seven college games – the most of any freshman in the nation this season.
Up Next:
- Maryland will compete one more time in the Geico Players Era Men's Championship Tournament on Wednesday. The opponent, game time and TV network will be determined following the conclusion of Tuesday's action.
