Shortly after Maryland men’s basketball’s 69-61 loss to Wisconsin on Feb. 1, guard Eric Ayala called out forward Jalen Smith in the locker room.

The former McDonald’s All-American scored five points, pulled down just four rebounds and spent considerable time on the bench in foul trouble against the Badgers. It was another underwhelming performance in an inconsistent rookie campaign.

“We need you,” Ayala told Smith. “When he’s playing at a high level, we’re just a different team.”

The difference was incredibly apparent Tuesday, with Smith struggling in the first half before exploding in the final 20 minutes to help No. 24 Maryland overcome an eight-point halftime deficit and topple No. 12 Purdue, 70-56.

Smith tallied a team-high 16 points — 14 of which came after halftime — to continue the Terps’ 9-0 record this year when he reaches the 15-point threshold.

“I tell Stix every day, ‘You’re a key part of what we do,’” Ayala said. “In the second half, he played tremendous.”

[Read more: No. 24 Maryland men’s basketball storms back after halftime to beat No. 12 Purdue, 70-56]

Early on, it appeared as if Smith’s sputtering offensive start would leave Maryland in a hole. On the Terps’ first possession, Smith took an inexplicable 3-pointer with more than half the shot clock remaining, missing off the back iron. Smith’s next attempt was blocked, and he missed two more layups and another triple to begin the night shooting 0-for-5.

Coach Mark Turgeon subbed him out late in the first half after Smith missed his third 3-point attempt, left forward Aaron Wheeler open for a trey on the outside and fumbled a rebound out of bounds in quick succession. A fastbreak dunk supplied the freshman with his lone two points.

“Stix was as bad as he could be,” Turgeon said, “and he was as good as he could be.”

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Rather than focusing on tactical changes at halftime, Turgeon opted to address his squad’s body language. Smith, who was notorious in high school for letting a poor start derail the rest of his night, seemed to recover during the break.

Forward Bruno Fernando — blanketed by double-teams throughout the night — found lanes to pass out to Smith more frequently in the final 20 minutes when Purdue attempted to limit his feeds to three-point shooters.

Four minutes into the second half, center Matt Haarms and forward Grady Eifert danced around Fernando near the right block. Fernando jumped and found Smith wide open beneath the basket for a dunk, tying the game at 40.

“Sometimes it’s so hard to make that pass,” Fernando said. “But today, just the look was there all the time.”

Then, with Smith racing down the floor in transition, guard Anthony Cowan lofted a pass Smith’s way. The Baltimore native rose up and threw the alley-oop down, giving Maryland its first lead with 10:14 remaining.

Smith was a large part of a push made by Maryland’s freshmen in the second half to come from behind, scoring 21 straight points during one stretch. But the juxtaposition between his first and second halves displayed the critical role Smith fills for the Terps. When he’s in form, Maryland’s on another level.

“Stix grew up,” guard Darryl Morsell said. “He grew up from a freshman in college in the first half to a grown man in the second half.”