(COLLEGE PARK, MD) – Purdue’s eight-game winning streak came to a screeching halt on Tuesday night as they were routed by 24th-ranked Maryland 70-56.
Jalen Smith scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half as the Terrapins used suffocating defense to a season-low 56 points.
Purdue came out of the gate hot and headed into halftime up 38-30 but everything unraveled in the second half as they were thoroughly outscored by Maryland 40-18.
“They were just making it harder on us,” coach Matt Painter said of Maryland’s lockdown defense in the second half. “We had some open looks that didn’t go down, some forced shots we’d like to have back, but there was still a lot of possessions in-between where Maryland’s defense was so much better than our offense.”
Carsen Edwards led all scorers with 24 points and was the only member of the Boilermakers to score more than nine points.
Purdue is 17-7 on the season and next host Penn State on Saturday.
