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Maryland lands important, come-from-behind win over Notre Dame

Mark Turgeon, Dez Wells, Seth Allen

Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon, right, is congratulated by guard Seth Allen (4) and Dez Wells, left, after Maryland defeated Tulsa 85-74 for Turgeon’s 300th career win in an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

AP

Maryland just played the most important half of basketball that they’ll play all season long.

The Terps had entered the night just 2-2 in league play -- with wins over Boston College and Georgia Tech -- and 10-7 overall. They had lost their last two games and had been beaten by every relevant team they played. Their best win on the season? Either the Yellow Jackets or Northern Iowa. That’s not good.

On Wednesday, Maryland hosted a Notre Dame team that had lost two in a row since their surprising win over a struggling Duke team at home. Remember the game that Jabari Parker got benched for playing so poorly? Yeah, that was against the Irish. Point being, Maryland had a chance to pick off another stumbling, middle-of-the-ACC-pack team in a game that they really, really needed to win, and ten minutes into the game, the Terps were already down double-digits.

Notre Dame took a 34-25 lead into the half, but in the final 20 minutes, Maryland took over. They went on a 16-2 run to open up the second half, extending their to as much as 12 before holding on and winning 74-66.

Dez Wells scored 17 points, all in the second half, and Seth Allen went for 14 in his first start of the season, but what won this game for Maryland was their defense. They were much more active in the final 20 minutes, turning Notre Dame over and forcing them into tough shots.

It’s going to be an uphill battle for the Terps if they want to make the NCAA tournament, but this is a good way to start to turn things around.

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