Three plays in the first half of Tuesday's Big Ten opener against Illinois finally allowed Maryland forward L.G. Gill to find a little mojo with his new team.
Early in the game, the 6-foot-8, 230-pound graduate transfer blocked a layup by Illinois guard Tracy Abrams.
Late in the half, Gill twice caught entry passes from Cowan — the first he immediately turned into a thunderous two-handed dunk and the second he caught in mid-air and banked in as he was being fouled.
Each time, Gill received a loud ovation from the announced sellout crowd at Xfinity Center, the kind he rarely heard while playing before more intimate gatherings his first three college seasons at Duquesne.