Eric Ayala and Fatts Russell keyed a second-half surge for No. 21 Maryland as the Terrapins recovered from a four-point halftime deficit to beat Vermont 68-57 on Saturday in College Park, Md.

Ayala and Russell each scored 22 points, went 2-for-8 from 3-point range and had two assists to fuel Maryland's offense in a third straight win to open the season. Qudus Wahab and Donta Scott grabbed eight rebounds apiece, and Russell added five boards for the Terrapins (3-0).

Ben Shungu scored 20 of his 27 points in the first half to power Vermont (1-1) and put Maryland on upset alert. Shungu went 10 of 18 from the floor, including 4 for 6 from the arc. Isaiah Powell added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Vermont's Ryan Davis, the America East Conference's preseason player of the year, made his season debut and scored eight points in 31 minutes. Davis missed the team's opener, reportedly due to a non-COVID illness.

The Catamounts used a 9-0 run, including four points from Powell, to stake out an 11-4 lead while holding Maryland scoreless for nearly 5 1/2 minutes. The Terrapins fell behind by as many as nine when Shungu hit a 3-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions to make it 22-13.

Maryland came back, and Ayala earned his side's first lead since 4-2 with a layup that made it 29-28. But Shungu knocked down two 3-pointers in the final 63 seconds of the half to give Vermont a 36-32 lead at the break.

Maryland clawed back early in the second half with a 9-0 run ending on a Russell 3-pointer that restored the Terrapins' lead.

The Catamounts hung within five points much of the rest of the way, but Russell's long jumper with 2:26 left to go made it 63-55 and pushed the game out of reach.

Russell scored 15 points in the second half on 5-of-10 shooting with two 3-pointers.

Maryland held James Graham III out for a second straight game due to a violation of team rules, according to a school spokesperson.

--Field Level Media