Donta Scott scored inside on an off-balance shot in traffic with 16 seconds left to give Maryland a 70-68 upset of No. 20 Florida Sunday in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Fatts Russell and Eric Ayala scored 19 points each as Maryland (6-4) delivered interim coach Danny Manning his first win since replacing 11-year head coach Mark Turgeon nine days ago.
Reeling Florida (7-3) lost for the third time in the last four games. The Gators had a chance to win in the closing seconds but Tyree Appleby’s 3-point try was off the mark.
Appleby (15 points) had played a key role, hitting four 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes to keep the Gators close. Phlandrous Fleming Jr. had a double-double for Florida, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
The Terps made 8 of 13 shots from beyond the arc with Ayala hitting 3 of 5 and Russell making all three of his attempts from distance. Maryland was shooting 26.8 percent under Turgeon, but in two games since his departure the Terps have hit 18 of 36 (50 percent) from deep.
It was a close game all the way as neither team led by more than seven points. Maryland accomplished that when Russell hit a 3-pointer with 6:20 left. But Appleby had an immediate answer, making a pair of 3-pointers 11 seconds apart.
From there it stayed close. A 3-pointer by Appleby with 1:14 left, gave Florida a 66-65 lead. But Russell answered with a driving 3-point play, drawing a fifth foul on the Gators’ top scorer and rebounder Colin Castleton (nine points, 10 rebounds).
Florida’s Anthony Duruji made a driving layup with 43 seconds left to tie it, but Scott (12 points) had the ultimate answer.
In a tight first half, in which neither team led by more than five points, Maryland’s Hakim Hart scored six points on consecutive possessions to trigger a 10-3 run that turned a two-point deficit into a five-point lead for the Terps.
But Fleming made a 3 and Jason Jitoboh muscled inside for a bucket as Florida made it a tie game at the half.
–Field Level Media