Eric Ayala scored a season-high 23 points as 10th-seeded Maryland took control late in the first half for a 63-54 victory over seventh-seeded Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night in West Lafayette, Ind.

Maryland (17-13), which withstood a late comeback attempt by the Huskies, will face second-seeded Alabama on Monday in an East Region second-round game.

Ayala finished one point shy of his career high by shooting 8 of 14 from the field and hitting three 3-pointers. He also was 4-of-4 from the free throw line and collected three steals.

Aaron Wiggins added 14 points and five rebounds on 5 of 9 shooting as Maryland shot 51.2 percent and made 9 of 18 3-pointers. Donta Scott contributed 12 for the Terrapins, who led for the final 27-plus minutes.

James Bouknight led UConn (15-8) with 15 points but endured a rough 6 of 16 shooting performance as the Huskies shot a dreadful 32.3 percent from the field. He also missed four of six free throws as UConn shot 5 of 12 from the foul line.

R.J. Cole was held to nine points on 3 of 12 shooting as UConn's starting backcourt combined to shoot 10 of 38 from the floor.

UConn held a 19-18 lead on a 3-pointer by Jalen Gaffney with 7:55 remaining but missed 14 of its final 15 shots of the half. Maryland took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Ayala with 7 1/2 minutes left, outscored the Huskies 15-3 and took a 33-22 lead by halftime after hitting four 3-pointers in the spurt.

UConn got within 33-26 early in the second on a hook shot by Adama Sanogo but Maryland countered with a 14-7 spurt and took a 47-34 lead on a dunk by Wiggins with 13:39 left. A 3-pointer by Wiggins upped the lead to 53-41 with seven minutes left but the Huskies scored the next seven points and were within 53-48 on a layup by Bouknight with 2:53 remaining.

Two free throws by Darryl Morsell made it 57-48 with 2:12 remaining. A steal by Gaffney led to Whaley's tip-in to make it 57-51 with 1:37 remaining but Ayala connected with Hakim Hart for a layup 27 seconds later to essentially seal it for Maryland.

--Field Level Media