COLLEGE PARK — Maryland men’s basketball forward Donta Scott leaped for a pass and, as a Minnesota defender fouled him and gravity pulled him down, flipped the ball into the net for an alley-oop layup. In sync, the jubilant crowd at Xfinity Center leaped to its feet.

The Terps had jumped out to a double-digit first-half lead and were on their way to what College Park has grown so accustomed to witnessing this season — a Maryland win.

Scott’s and-one finish came in the midst of a decisive 15-0 run midway through the first half as the Terps turned a back-and-forth contest into a one-sided affair. Maryland took a 21-point first-half lead en route to an 88-70 victory over last-place Minnesota on Wednesday to improve to 19-9 overall and 10-7 in the Big Ten.

Maryland hit 73.1% of its shots in the first half — its best mark in a half since 2020 — and finished shooting a sizzling 68.1%. The hot hand helped the Terps earn a school-record 12th straight win over a visiting Big Ten opponent dating to last season.

Scott pointed to a couple of lucky “bounce-ins” that helped the team’s percentage. “But that’s what you get when you’re at home, home-court advantage,” he said with a smile.

Whether or not it’s the rims, College Park has been a friendly confine for the Terps this season.

Last year, Maryland suffered its first losing season in nearly three decades, missing the NCAA Tournament. But new coach Kevin Willard and the Terps have returned to their winning ways, thanks in large part to their dominance at home.

While college basketball teams generally win two-thirds of their home games, the Terps are now 15-1 at home this year and 2-7 on the road. Maryland generally plays well at home (since 2017, it has won 76% of home and 38% of road games), but this year has been even more pronounced.

Last week, Maryland knocked off then-No. 3 Purdue at home, 68-54, prompting fans to storm the court in College Park. But the schedule beckoned for another road game, and the Terps lost Sunday in overtime at middling Nebraska, 70-66.

In that game, Scott shot just 2-for-16 from the field. Before Wednesday’s contest, Willard encouraged him to relax, and the senior forward was outstanding, scoring 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting as one of five Terps to finish in double figures.

Hakim Hart contributed 20 points, six assists and four steals while Jahmir Young and Don Carey added 11 and 10 points, respectively. But it was Julian Reese (St. Frances) who paced the team with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Reese has struggled from the free-throw line this season and missed his first four tries Wednesday. After he made his fifth attempt, some fans cheered, which he didn’t like, he said, since he’s trying to become a more confident and consistent shooter from the line.

He was efficient from the field, though, hitting 9 of 11 shots, including putback attempts, and-ones and a nifty hook shot.

“Julian is one of the best big guys in the league,” Willard said of the 6-foot-9 sophomore forward. “I don’t think I’d trade Julian for anybody.”

The game’s opening 10 minutes were back-and-forth as Minnesota kept pace. But thanks to extraordinary shooting by the Terps, Maryland opened up a sizable lead (as many as 28 points in the second half) it never relinquished.

Pharrel Payne, a freshman, led Minnesota (7-19, 1-15 Big Ten) with 17 points in the loss, the Golden Gophers’ 11th straight.

Although the Terps were heavy favorites against the worst team in the Big Ten, Willard stressed that his team “knew how important this game was.” The victory did give the team double-digit Big Ten wins and also moved them into a tie for third in the conference, but it was also essential to avoid a bad loss as the NCAA Tournament approaches. Maryland is on pace, per several projections, to be a No. 7 seed in the bracket, which will be announced in just over two weeks.

Willard noted that the win won’t boost the Terps in college basketball metrics, like KenPom and the NET, but a loss could’ve dropped them down the ratings.

“It’s late February, it’s our 10th win, it’s third place,” Willard said. “You don’t want to have a bad loss this time of year where people are talking about it. You show them that you just go out and handle business.”

The Terps’ final home game of the season comes Sunday against No. 21 Northwestern, which is in second place in the Big Ten. They’ll then finish the season with two road games in early March, at Ohio State and Penn State.

For all its dominance at home and its struggles on the road, the Terps will then move to postseason play — the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago and the NCAA Tournament — which will be played at neutral sites, where the Terps are 2-1 on the season.