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Leading up to the NBA Draft, we're going to take a look at Alex Len's best games as a Terrapin. Up first, a dominant performance from this past January.
#5: Maryland 64, Boston College 59
January 22, 2013
Alex Len's fifth-best game as a Terp came on a cold January night, the night before spring semester began. I remember my bus back to CP getting in late and rushing over to Comcast Center only to find I had pretty much my choice of seats on the wall despite arriving at game time. Needless to say, the atmosphere wasn't the greatest, and combined with a lackluster opponent in Boston College and a game at Cameron looming on Saturday, it easily projected as a trap game.
Maryland was also coming off losses in three of its last four games; a loss to the Eagles could have resulted in the season unraveling early. BC started four guards, and with Ryan Anderson the tallest Eagles starter at 6'8" Len had a significant height advantage on the floor.
In some games, we saw Len not take advantage of smaller line-ups, but against Boston College he asserted himself, scoring nine points and grabbing five rebounds in the first half alone while Maryland as a team struggled, shooting just 37 percent en route to a 29-29 tie at halftime.
Len grabbed eight more rebounds in the second half to finish with a team-high 16 points (including three dunks) and 13 rebounds, the latter of which tied his career-high. It was also his fifth double-double of the season. More importantly, he played a significant role in helping the Terps grab a much-needed win in a tight game that is probably often overlooked when you look back on the season. Had the Terps lost that game and had the next two results held (losses at Duke and Florida State), we would've been looking at a 2-6 start in the ACC.
In a season where you often didn't know which Alex Len would show up, his elevated play on both the offensive and defensive ends in this win was critical, which is why I've picked it as one of his top five games as a Terp.
Check out highlights of the game, including two of Len's dunks: