Maryland Rolls Past Pepperdine

John Gilchrist scored a career-high 24 points to lead five players in double figures as Maryland routed Pepperdine, 96-72, Sunday.

The Terrapins started the second half with an 11-2 run and pulled away despite an impressive performance by Glen McGowan, who scored a career-high 36 points for Pepperdine (3-5). McGowan, who made 11 of 21 shots and 12 of 15 free throws, set a scoring record at the 2-year-old Comcast Center.

Gilchrist scored eight points during the Terrapins’ second-half blitz, which put them ahead, 55-34, only 2:07 into the second half. Pepperdine, which had a two-game winning streak snapped, never got closer than 13 points after that.

Freshman D.J. Strawberry, from Santa Ana Mater Dei, had 17 points as Maryland followed up on its Wednesday night upset of top-ranked Florida with its highest point total of the season.

Jamar Smith registered his seventh double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins, who improved to 6-2 entering a nine-day layoff for exams.

Chris McCray contributed 11 points and Nik Caner-Medley added 10 for Maryland.

Gilchrist, a sophomore point guard, drained three of four three-pointers and scored with drives to the basket. He was coming off an 18-point effort against Florida that equaled his previous career-high.

Strawberry made two three-point shots after entering the game 0 for 5 from behind the arc. Maryland was a season-best 10 for 16 from three-point range.

Terrance Johnson, who had 11 points, was the only other player in double figures for Pepperdine, which made only 38% of its shots.