Sam Maniscalco made five 3-pointers as Illinois held off host Maryland 71-62 on Tuesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Maniscalco, who transferred after four years at Bradley, finished with a season-high 24 points and led a critical 10-0 run early in the second half to help Illinois (7-0) reach its best start in five years.

The Illini received only five points from one of the country’s deepest benches and relied instead on Meyers Leonard to close out their first real test of the season. The 7-footer scored eight of his 12 points in the second half and took advantage of a tired Maryland interior down the stretch on both ends of the floor, including two blocks on one of the Terrapins’ final possessions.

Maryland (3-3), still struggling to execute first-year coach Mark Turgeon’s slower, grind-it-out system, suffered its first home loss in 13 years of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Illinois seemed content to let leading scorer Terrell Stoglin get his points as finished with a game-high 25. The Illini, though, wore down a thin backcourt.

The Terrapins weren’t as careless against a pressing defense as they were in a pair of double-digit losses to Alabama and Iona as they committed only 11 turnovers. They were, however, prevented from getting into a real offensive flow in the second half and produced a season-low five assists.