When Maryland and Iowa faced off three weeks ago, Jahmir Young converted a layup with 1.5 seconds to go to give the Terps a much-needed road victory to stay afloat in the bubble conversation. Maryland has won only one game since that night, and on Wednesday night in a cavernous Xfinity Center, the Terps needed to duplicate that performance if they didn’t want their season to come crashing down more than it already has.
After struggling for the majority of the game, Maryland turned a double-digit deficit into a double-digit victory. The Terps trailed 58-50 with just over 10 minutes remaining, but found an offensive rhythm and rode it down the stretch for a 78-66 win.
Maryland made six of its final eight field goals as Iowa scored only eight points in the final 10 minutes.
“This was a huge win,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said. “I’ve seen a lot of teams that have been through this that kind of don’t come out and fight, and these guys showed great heart so I think for them it’s really important.”
DeShawn Harris Smith scored a career-high 17 points in the victory for the Terps. The freshman guard, who has started 23 of Maryland’s 25 games so far this season, came off the bench on Wednesday night for the second straight game. His energy in a reserve role helped the Terps creep back and eventually pull ahead.
“When I’m on the bench I can see how they’re playing everybody and I come in and I can be like an instant impact because I’ve already been watching,” Harris-Smith said. “If that means we win, then I’ll come off the bench every game.”
He was an efficient 7-of-10 from the field and knocked down two three-pointers in his scoring outburst.
“I find it comical that everybody thinks starting matters,” Willard said. “He played 41 minutes the other night against Ohio State and he gets 31 minutes tonight. Just because your name doesn’t get called is probably one of the most irrelevant things in basketball.”
Jahmir Young (21 points) and Julian Reese (16 points, 13 rebounds) had impressive second halves to help the Terps climb back into it. Reese notched his 13th double-double of the season while Young did most of his damage from the free throw line, going a perfect 13-of-13.
Maryland found itself down by as many as 11 points in the first half, as Iowa started hot from beyond the arc. Payton Sandfort connected on his first three from downtown to help give the Hawkeyes an early 13-6 advantage.
The three-point discrepancy was evident in the first half, as Maryland shot just 2-of-13 and found itself in an early hole. Reese was double-teamed on virtually every touch and was forced to swing the ball to open shooters who were unable to connect. Despite the poor outside shooting, the Terps made up their ground on the interior, outscoring Iowa 22-12 in the paint in the first half.
Maryland made four of its last five field goals in the first half to trim the lead down to four, but a layup from Patrick McCaffery gave the Hawkeyes a 37-31 halftime lead.
Out of the break, Harris-Smith continued his surge, scoring six of Maryland’s first nine points in the second half. Defensively, he was tasked with guarding Sandfort, who scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the first half.
“I thought his defense was phenomenal,” Willard said of Harris-Smith. “His defense on Sandfort was the difference in the game. He really started being physical, he was chasing him off screens. Sandfort hit some tough two’s in the second half, but I thought he really did a good job of staying on him and chasing him off. Once they stopped getting easy threes, that just gave us a little more confidence.”
He was active on the glass on both ends and put back two layups gained from offensive rebounds. His rebounding effort was also crucial, as the Terps dealt with multiple injuries in the frontcourt.
Mady Traore, who earned his second consecutive start on Wednesday, injured his left leg in the second half and was forced to exit. The Terps were already without Jordan Geronimo, who collided with Sandfort on a three-point attempt late in the first half and did not see the court after.
“I feel like [the injuries] puts more emphasis on the whole team, just coming together. Like they say, when your brother falls, everybody else has to stay together and I feel like we did that today and we were able to get the win,” Reese said.
In their absences, Reese began to come alive. The junior converted two straight layups, the second of which tied the game at 60. Free throws from Young gave Maryland its first lead, which it never relinquished.
Iowa only made three field goals after Maryland took the lead, as the Terps began dominating almost every facet. A fadeaway by Reese as the shot clock expired pushed Maryland’s lead to five, and the Terps salted the game away with free throws. Maryland’s final nine points were at the free-throw line.
In Saturday’s loss at Ohio State, several Terps missed multiple free throws at crucial moments. After attempting only three in the first half on Wednesday, Maryland finished 24-of-29 at the line.
“We really haven’t had much time to practice,” Willard said. “I’ll go to the line with Donta Scott every time at the end of the game, he missed two free throws, it’s basketball, sometimes it happens.”
With the win, Maryland improves to 14-11 on the season and 6-8 in Big Ten play. The Terps will battle Illinois on Saturday at home, having already defeated the Illini in Champaign in early January. That game will tip at 5:30 on Fox.
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