Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Jamison Battle had a career-high 39 points but it wasn’t enough to end Minnesota’s troubles on the road, falling to Maryland 84-73 on Tuesday night.
The Gophers got off to a fast start as Peyton Willis scored the first eight points of the game. The senior got into double-figures quickly but picked up his second foul with 10:55 remaining in the first half.
With Willis on the bench, Battle took over. The sophomore scored 19 points in the first half and helped the Gophers go into halftime down 41-37. Battle continued to cook in the second half, knocking down seven 3-pointers on the night to keep Minnesota in the game.
.@battletime510 like butter 🧈.
CC: @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/r8zdCBA2Wg
— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) March 3, 2022
But while Battle was having a tremendous night, he didn’t have much help. Willis scored 21 points after getting back on the court in the second half but no other Gopher scored more than five points.
Maryland was particularly opportunistic in the paint, taking advantage of the absence of Eric Curry. With the Terrapins outscoring Minnesota in the paint 46-16, they used a 10-0 run to build a 13-point lead with 11:18 to go.
Despite the double-digit deficit, Battle continued to stay hot and helped Minnesota cut the lead down to two points with a 3-pointer with 2:34 to go. But Eric Ayala, who scored 15 points on the night, knocked down a 3-pointer to start an 8-0 run that helped put the game away.
Minnesota (13-15, 4-15 Big Ten) dropped its seven straight road game and will close out the regular season by traveling to Northwestern on Sunday night.
