Pharrell Payne scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half, leading the Maryland men’s basketball team to a 74-67 victory over UNLV on Monday night at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
In a game that started around midnight Eastern time, Payne also had eight rebounds and a block in his return from a hip injury. The senior forward missed only one game after suffering what had appeared to be a much more serious ailment when he fell awkwardly during a win at Marquette on Nov. 15.
Payne made 7 of 8 shots from the field and 6 of 10 free throws for Maryland (5-1). Darius Adams added 15 points, and David Coit had 11. Myles Rice, who also returned after missing four of the Terrapins’ first five games with an ankle injury, had eight points and six assists off the bench.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn led UNLV (3-3) with 17 points. Kimani Hamilton scored 11 before fouling out.
Gibbs-Lawhorn, Hamilton and Howie Fleming Jr. all scored seven in the first half to help UNLV take a 30-27 lead into halftime.
The Rebels led by as many as eight points in the first half after Gibbs-Lawhorn hit a three-pointer to ignite a 9-0 run that led to a 28-20 UNLV advantage with 3:23 left in the half. Rice made a three with 20 seconds left before the break to pull Maryland back within one possession.
Maryland pulled ahead in the second half thanks to three-pointers from Rice and Andre Mills during a 10-2 run that gave the Terrapins their first second-half lead at 51-49 with 10:14 remaining.
Payne’s layup gave the Terrapins a 58-53 advantage with 6:50 to play, and the lead was eight before UNLV pulled back within one possession on a pair of Walter Brown free throws with 3:30 left.
Coit hit a pair of three-pointers down the stretch, and the second one gave Maryland its largest lead of the night, an 11-point advantage at 70-59 with 1:43 to play. The Terrapins closed it out from there.
Maryland plays again late Tuesday night against No. 12 Gonzaga, which beat No. 8 Alabama, 95-85, in an earlier game Monday at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
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