The Maryland men’s basketball team’s 67-55 home win over Rutgers improved its record to 18-2, the program’s best 20-game start since Steve Francis ran the point during the 1998-99 campaign.

Francis led those Terps with 17 points per game, but for guard Melo Trimble — this year’s star leader — the former NBA player’s name doesn’t hold much significance.

“Uh, Steve Francis,” Trimble said before pausing. “I don’t really remember that year.”

That’s probably because as Francis was guiding Maryland to a 28-6 record and an appearance in the Sweet 16, the Upper Marlboro native had just turned four years old. Now, Trimble paces the nation’s No. 22 team, which held off the Scarlet Knights for its fifth straight Big Ten win. Despite a slew of injuries and three freshmen starters, Maryland sits atop the conference standings.

The Terps’ struggles against Rutgers were apparent, from their sluggish start to their rebounding woes, but Trimble’s game-high 17 points helped his team match the mark of Francis’ bunch 18 years prior.

Here are three takeaways from the Terps’ 12-point win:

First-half struggles

Poor nonconference home performances, such as those against American and Towson, allowed inferior opponents to hang with Maryland, and the Terps (18-2, 6-1 Big Ten) again played down to their competition Tuesday night.

Rutgers (12-9, 1-7) entered the game 4-39 in the Big Ten since joining the conference in 2014, yet the Scarlet Knights kept the Xfinity Center crowd quiet for much of the first half and entered the break trailing by just five.

The Terps finished the opening period shooting 39.3 percent from the field, but making their final four shots boosted the mark. Their offensive troubles, combined with Rutgers guard Corey Sanders’ 13 first-period points, allowed one of the Big Ten’s worst teams to keep up with the conference leader for the opening 20 minutes. Maryland guard Anthony Cowan, who scored at least 15 points in his past three games, missed each of his five shots in that stretch.

“They were much more prepared for us than we were for them,” coach Mark Turgeon said. “They were sitting on all of our stuff early and really guarded us well.”

Still, Maryland ended the half on an 8-2 spurt behind a mid-range jumper and consecutive 3-pointers, turning a one-point deficit into a 34-29 lead. From there, the Terps led by as many as 17 before holding off the Scarlet Knights in the final minutes.

“That was good going into the half on the run we did,” guard Kevin Huerter said. “Then we came out from the half and played pretty well, too. So pretty big.”

Three-point success

The Terps made two of their first eight 3-pointers as Trimble launched a triple from the left wing with Maryland holding a one-point advantage and less than a minute to play in the first half.

The crowd erupted as Trimble’s attempt swished through the net. The fans let out a similar ovation on the next possession when forward L.G. Gill drilled just his second trey of the season. The first half ran out seconds later, the two long balls giving Maryland a five-point advantage at the break.

Maryland also had success from distance after intermission, continuing a trend of hot shooting that’s carried throughout conference play.

“We recruit good shooters,” Turgeon said at practice Monday, “and I think guys are getting comfortable.”

Tuesday’s 8-for-20 performance from three-point range was a slight dip from their conference-leading 41.6 percent clip during Big Ten play. Trimble made three triples after going 5-for-9 in Maryland’s win over Iowa on Thursday, while Huerter (11 points) made two of his seven attempts against the Scarlet Knights. Reserve guards Jaylen Brantley and Jared Nickens each hit one.

In the second half, back-to-back 3-pointers on each side of the under-16 timeout put Maryland up double digits. With about 12 minutes to play, Brantley’s long ball increased the Terps lead to 16.

Turgeon’s team scored 13 more points the rest of the game, but its deep dominance gave the Terps enough of an advantage to hold off the Scarlet Knights down the stretch.

Terps return to full strength

For the first time since Maryland’s 73-59 home loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 29, all of the Terps’ rotation players were healthy.

Trimble, who missed Monday’s practice with an illness, felt “a little better” Tuesday during his 17-point, six-rebound, four-assist performance. The Terps also welcomed the return of forward Michal Cekovsky, who missed the past six games with an ankle injury, and guard Dion Wiley, who sat the previous two contests with a back issue.

“I played too many guys,” Turgeon said. “It’s hard to do that, but I wanted to get them in there.”

Turgeon said Cekovsky ‘has the furthest to go” because he’s out of shape from not practicing, but he thought the 7-foot-1 Slovakian — who missed his only shot and grabbed one rebound in four minutes — played with energy and felt confident getting back on the court.

Wiley only played two minutes but skied for two boards. The sixth-year coach said the junior has improved the past few days and expects him to keep moving in that direction.