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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- After a somber week, Maryland forward
Byron Mouton found a measure of solace on the basketball court.
|  | | Detroit's Willie Wallace, right, fouls Byron Mouton in the first half at College Park, Md. |
Playing one day after attending the funeral of his brother,
Mouton scored 13 points as Maryland (No. 2 ESPN/USA Today, No. 3 AP) extended its
non-conference home winning streak to 81 with a 79-54 rout of
Detroit on Sunday night.
It was the seventh straight win for the Terrapins (7-1), who got
17 points from Lonny Baxter, 14 from Tahj Holden and 12 from Juan
Dixon.
Mouton provided the inspiration.
The senior forward left the team Monday after learning that his
brother, Kevin, had been shot to death in Houston. Mouton didn't
start against the Titans (4-3), instead playing the role of a
reserve after missing several days of practice.
"I think it was a relief for him just to get back on the
court," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "I asked him if he
wanted to play, and he said yes, probably to get his mind off
things for two hours."
Mouton went 5-for-7 from the field and contributed four rebounds
in 18 minutes.
"I was real comfortable," Mouton said. "The last couple of
days I just sat around with my family. To come back was nice. I
love to play basketball."
And his teammates loved having him back.
"He's good spirit. We love that dude," Dixon said. "He keeps
a smile on everybody's face."
Up by 17 points at halftime, the Terrapins used a 12-2 run to
make it 57-32 with 11:35 remaining, assuring themselves of
extending the nation's longest non-conference home winning streak, a
run that began in 1989.
When Mouton was finally pulled, he received a warm ovation from
the Cole Field House crowd of 14,327.
"He did a good job at home with his family, then came back and
did a good job here," Williams said.
Willie Green led the Titans with 15 points. Detroit, which went
25-12 last season, was coming off a 26-point loss to Oakland
University.
"We think this kind of game is going to benefit us," Detroit
coach Perry Watson said, "because we don't play anybody as good as
Maryland in this environment."
Maryland limited the Titans to 29 percent shooting, forced 11
turnovers and took advantage of six blocked shots by Holden in
taking a 40-23 halftime lead.
The Terrapins made 11 of their first 15 shots to go up 23-10. It
was 11-7 before Dixon hit a jumper to spark a 10-0 run that
included two baskets by Mouton.
"He brings energy to the team. We missed it all week in
practice," Baxter said.
Detroit missed 17 of its first 21 field goal attempts and went
more than six minutes without a basket before Greg Grays hit a
jumper to make it 29-13 with 5:35 left in the half.
"I think we were our own worst enemy," Watson said. "When you
play a team like Maryland on their floor and have 11 turnovers in
one half, that hurts you." | 
