When asked on Friday if he’d been considering driving the lane more in an attempt to break out of his offensive mire, guard Anthony Cowan allowed — for a split second — a smirk to pass over what tends to be an expressionless face during interviews.

“Probably need to,” Cowan said. “But at this point, just whatever. I’m just going with the flow.”

While the flow hadn’t been going in his favor lately, Tuesday marked a different trend — and a different outcome for Cowan and Maryland men’s basketball.

After the Terps suffered another weak offensive start against No. 21 Iowa, Cowan poured on a game-high 17 points and season-high eight assists to help the team get going. When he drove the lane and dished back out beyond the arc, or shot from distance himself, Maryland found room in and around the Hawkeyes’ 2-3 zone, winning 66-65 to finally snap a streak that’s hung over coach Mark Turgeon since his arrival.

“He’s a pretty hard guy to keep out of the lane; he’s pretty quick,” Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery said. “You’ve got a lot of things to consider when he’s got the ball, when he’s off the ball.”

[Read more: No. 24 Maryland men’s basketball snaps road ranked streak with 66-65 win at No. 21 Iowa]

Before facing Iowa, Cowan endured a gauntlet full of turnovers and misses. Over his previous seven games, he averaged 10.1 points on 31.9 percent shooting.

While doling out six assists against Purdue, Cowan turned the ball over six times, too. He managed three assists while adding three more giveaways in Saturday’s loss to Michigan, while scoring 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

Tuesday looked more like Cowan’s usual self, even if he didn’t readily admit it. The junior sank 5-of-10 3-pointers, turned the ball over once and locked down Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon for a full 40 minutes.

“I still wasn’t myself,” Cowan said. “I still could play a lot better. But happy we just came out with the win.”

Toward the end of practice Monday, assistant coach Matt Brady led Cowan and guard Eric Ayala through a series of drive-and-kick drills, designed to combat Iowa’s zone defense and lead to open shots from beyond the arc.

[Read more: Maryland men’s basketball stays put at No. 24 in latest AP poll]

The tactic presented itself during Tuesday’s game, and Cowan took advantage. With 7:29 remaining in the first half and Maryland employing a small lineup after forward Bruno Fernando’s second foul, Cowan took two dribbles toward the left elbow, drawing the Hawkeyes’ defense into the paint, before finding guard Aaron Wiggins wide open in the corner for a trey.

On the next possession, Cowan drove to the right elbow. When Iowa’s five collapsed, Cowan’s jump pass found Ayala for a triple, the second of four consecutive 3-pointers — the final two of which came from Cowan — to give Maryland a narrow lead.

At halftime, Cowan had scored or assisted 19 of the Terps’ 27 points. And when the buzzer sounded on a 66-65 victory, Cowan, Wiggins and Ayala combined for 11 threes.

“Those three guys have made 150 threes,” McCaffery said. “That’s a lot of threes from three guys who are all shooting pretty good percentages — Cowan was a little less cause he shoots more. But tonight he goes 5-for-10. Really good player.”

Ayala put Maryland ahead by 12 with 13:48 remaining, hitting from long range after Cowan kicked out to him again. The Bowie native assisted on two more treys down the stretch and scored from downtown twice in the final six minutes, delivering pivotal makes in a one-point game.

With its big men in foul trouble, Maryland relied on its backcourt to carry the load. Cowan answered the call, bucking his own slump while the Terps disposed of an 11-year winless streak against ranked road teams.

“Anthony’s a heck of a player,” Turgeon said. “He gets scrutinized so much, because he’s our only upperclassmen really that’s playing. But I thought he was terrific.”