WEST LAFAYETTE — When A.J. Hammons stepped back to hit his second 3-pointer of Saturday’s game, Purdue appeared to be in a comfortable position against Maryland.
The senior center from Gary gave the Boilermakers a 10-point lead with a little more than four minutes remaining.
The situation got considerably less comfortable for No. 20 Purdue, which nearly wilted against the Terrapins’ press.
But the Boilermakers held on for an 83-79 Big Ten win against No. 10 Maryland at Mackey Arena.
Hammons had a team-high 19 points in shooting 7-for-10. He added seven rebounds and two blocked shots, despite sitting the final 8:44 of the first half with two fouls.
“Hammons was at an unbelievable level the whole game,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “Thank God he picked up those fouls. We had no answer for him.
“When Hammons is stepping out and making 3s, it makes it hard.”
Hammons made both of his 3-point attempts, including a pick-and-pop from the left wing three minutes into the game. He improved to 6-for-10 from 3-point range this season, after going 0-for-12 his first three seasons.
“Any time I’m open,” Hammons said with a smile when asked about the right time to shoot 3s. “I’ve been working on it. I hit one, so I tried the second one. I felt it. He didn’t put his hand up, so I took it.”
Dakota Mathias matched his career high with 17 points for the Boilermakers (22-7, 10-6). He also shot 7-for-10 and added four assists. The sophomore shot 3-for-6 from 3-point range in 27 minutes off the bench.
Purdue went 7-for-17 from 3-point range against the Terrapins (23-6, 11-5), after going 3-for-25 in its loss at Maryland on Feb. 6.
“I made some shots, and that stretches the defense,” Mathias said. “That’s what we’ve been looking for all year, that consistency from the outside.
“It felt natural. That’s want I’ve been wanting to do — I feel comfortable playing more minutes.”
Hammons joked he gave Mathias a “pep talk” before the game. “I told him to shoot it and stop passing,” he said.
Hammons’ 3-pointer with 4:12 left gave the Boilermakers a 74-64 lead. But the Terrapins implemented a press, forcing a series of turnovers.
Purdue had led by as many as 16 points with 12:32 left in the first half, managing to maintain at least a two-point lead.
But when Jake Layman scored on a layup with 2:12 left off a steal, Maryland tied the score at 76-76.
Hammons made the second of two free throws with 1:49 left to regain the lead for Purdue.
The Boilermakers finally broke the Terrapins’ press, resulting in Johnny Hill’s drive for a 79-76 lead with 1:15 left.
With Purdue leading 79-77, Mathias missed a 3-pointer, but Hill grabbed the offensive rebound. That set up Rapheal Davis’ two free throws with 23.1 seconds left.
Vince Edwards sealed the win with two free throws with 6.0 seconds left.
More Top Picks Wyze Cam V4
The Boilermakers outrebounded the Terrapins 41-22 and had a 24-10 advantage on second-chance points.
“Just trying to get great position,” Hammons said. “We kept talking about keep rebounding, keep crashing the glass.”
Notes: Purdue is 16-1 at Mackey, tying the program record for home wins in a season. … Eighteen scouts from 16 NBA teams attended the game.
Twitter: @MichaelOsipoff