Just over one calendar year ago, the initial leg of a home-and-home series between Maryland and UCLA commenced, with the Bruins manhandling their future Big Ten foe by a score of 87-60. The game was never remotely close, as UCLA forced 16 turnovers and led by as many as 38 points in the dominant blowout.
Fast forward 12 months later, the Terrapins took aim at head coach Kevin Willard’s good friend Mick Cronin and his Bruins for the second time, seeking revenge against the team that handed them their last home loss.
Leading 48-28 with 17:17 remaining in the second half, Maryland looked like it was on its way to a laughable victory. Over the next 11 minutes, the Terps did not make a single field goal, as UCLA used a 27-9 run to cut Maryland’s lead to two.
From that moment on, it was all about Jahmir Young.
The senior guard did everything for Maryland on Friday, notching a career-high 37 points on 13-19 shooting from the field, but it was his his closing ability that got the Terps out of trouble when they needed it most.
Clinging to a 57-55 lead with just over five minutes remaining, Young scored nine straight points down the stretch for Maryland to give the Terps enough breathing room to hold off the Bruins, 69-60.
Young, who was 0-8 from the field with five turnovers in last years loss, further proved why he is the leader of this team.
“He was phenomenal,” Willard said. “He had it going early – he felt it. I think he saw that first one go in, you saw his eyes, he really wanted the basketball. And at the end of the game we needed a bucket, and with [Julian Reese] out, we put the ball in his hands and he made some big plays.”
Young put any thoughts of last years performance to rest immediately in Friday’s matchup, pouring in 23 first-half points on a near-perfect 8-of-9 shooting clip to give Maryland a 15-point halftime lead.
The hometown product scored the first eight points for the Terps, connecting on two early threes, and was able to control the pace throughout the half. His hot shooting proved to be contagious, as Maryland shot a scorching 7-of-12 from three-point range as a team in the first 20 minutes.
“Just remembering that feeling from last year,” Young said of his career night. “Just made it a personal thing, and really just going out and playing as hard as I can. We have a break for a few days, so just going out leaving it all on the floor.”
The Terps entered Friday’s matchup shooting 27% from three in their first 11 games.
Maryland held UCLA to 32% shooting from the field in the first half and 1-7 from three-point range, despite Julian Reese sitting for the final 10:20 with two fouls. The Bruins failed to capitalize from the free-throw line by going 9-16.
Sebastian Mack (17 points) was the only real source of offense for UCLA on a night where scoring was initially hard to come by. The Bruins began the second half cold again by missing their first four shots from the field.
Dylan Andrews’ jumper with 15:13 remaining was the first field goal of the second half for UCLA. From there, the momentum began to swing.
A lid fell over the Maryland basket, as the offense became stagnant to allow UCLA to creep back into it. After starting out hot from three in the first half, the Terps missed their final nine of the game.
Aside from Young, Maryland’s only other offensive threat was Donta Scott.
After a 15-point bounce-back performance for Scott in Maryland’s 73-67 win over Nicholls on Tuesday, the fifth-year senior continued his solid play on Friday. He finished with 17 points and went 7-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Outside of Young and Scott, Maryland shot 3-18 from the field. UCLA’s bench outscored Maryland’s bench 20-0 on Friday night.
After Reese fouled out with 5:45 remaining, Willard was forced to implement a smaller lineup with Jordan Geronimo at the five.
With three-pointers not falling and Maryland thin in the front court, UCLA began to dominate on the interior. The Bruins out-rebounded Maryland 40-32, while grabbing eight more offensive boards than the Terps in the process.
“Something about Mick Cronin’s teams, they are going to rebound,” Willard said. “We got in foul trouble, we got small, and I think going small almost helped us a little bit because we were able to get a little bit lower, box out, create a little more space.”
This was the case, as the Terps forced a couple of key misses on the defensive end, secured the rebounds, and put the game away at the free-throw line.
The victory was the 300th for the career of Willard, and the first-ever Maryland win at Pauley Pavillion. Maryland will next face Coppin State on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m.
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