Maryland men’s basketball upsets No. 20 Florida, 70-68, to end 3-game losing streak, earn first win under interim coach Danny Manning

Before Maryland men’s basketball made the trip to Brooklyn for its matchup against No. 20 Florida, interim coach Danny Manning preached confidence.

Maryland has struggled so far this season, but Manning’s message was clear: be fearless and don’t hesitate to shoot.

The Terps followed Manning’s guidance, shooting 49% from the field while senior guard Eric Ayala looked like his old self as Maryland escaped with a 70-68 win over the Gators at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday.

“We’ve been through a lot, but we have stuck together,” graduate transfer Fatts Russell said. “We’ve told each other that we’re going to fight this out.”

Sunday’s matchup, which was Maryland’s final game before the two-week break, was a back-and-forth affair that featured six ties and 11 lead changes. If the Terps (6-4) were going to end their losing skid and change the outlook of their season, they needed players like Russell, Ayala and junior forward Donta Scott to step up.

With 16 seconds left and the game tied at 68, Scott made a contested shot in the paint to give the Terps a two-point advantage. Florida guard Tyree Appleby’s potential game-winning 3-pointer clanked off the rim, and the Terps secured the rebound as time expired before celebrating Manning’s first win as the interim coach.

Ayala, who was 2-for-12 in a loss against Northwestern in the Big Ten opener, finished with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Russell matched him with 19 points while making all three of his 3-pointers, while Scott recorded 12 points and four rebounds and junior guard Hakim Hart added 11 points.

“We feel very confident with the young men on the team,” Manning said. “We haven’t played the way that we are capable of playing. Today was definitely a step in the right direction.”

In the second half, Ayala and Russell took charge. After Florida (7-3) jumped out to a four-point lead, Russell nailed a 3-pointer. The Rhode Island transfer drew an offensive foul and set up a 3-pointer from Ayala, which gave Maryland a 41-39 lead with 15:58 left.

Ayala continued being aggressive, as he backed down Florida guard Myreon Jones and made a layup to give the Terps a 43-39 lead.

Russell’s third 3-pointer of the game gave the Terps their largest lead of seven points with 6:26 left. After Florida cut Maryland’s lead down to one, Ayala attacked the rim at will, scoring five consecutive points to give the Terps a 64-58 lead with 3:45 remaining.

Suddenly, Florida shifted the momentum by going on an 8-1 run. With 1:14 left in regulation Appleby (15 points on 5-for-9 shooting) nailed a 3-pointer to give the Gators a 66-65 lead.

However, Russell had an answer. He raced towards the rim and scored the go-ahead basket while drawing a foul on a layup.

“Coach [Manning] thought I wasn’t being myself,” Russell said. “I felt like I needed to do that for our team to be successful.”

Maryland had one of its best offensive performances this season despite Florida’s rigid defense, which forced the Terps to commit 15 turnovers that resulted in 20 points. The Gators’ hands were active throughout the game, generating seven steals, and they shut down junior forward Qudus Wahab by holding him to one point and eight rebounds.

Florida had six blocks while the team’s full-court pressure had Maryland out of sorts at times. Manning said the key to beating Florida’s defensive pressure was attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line, where the Terps went 14-for-18.

“We were able to attack,” Manning said. “We got some layups early in the first half and were able to get the ball in the gut of that defense and break it down. When we attacked pressure, we put them on their heels.”

Over the past two games, Maryland’s 3-point shooting has trended in the right direction. After the Terps made 10 3-pointers against Northwestern, they were 8-for-13 on Sunday. Ayala was 3-for-5 from deep while Hart buried a 3-pointer that gave Maryland a one-point advantage with under five minutes remaining in the first.

“We’ve been practicing hard,” Ayala said. “Manning has done a lot of shooting drills to get us ready.”

Maryland needed this win badly. After losing four winnable games and watching coach Mark Turgeon step down, things appeared to be spiraling out of control.

As the players celebrated with Manning in the locker room after their first win over a ranked nonconference opponent since 2014, there was a sense of hope.

“The locker room was very turned up, which was a good thing because our guys worked hard and been through a lot of transitions,” Manning said.

LOYOLA MARYLAND@MARYLAND

Dec. 28, 8:30 p.m.

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: 105.7 FM