On a day where Maryland basketball celebrated former head coach Lefty Driesell and the historic teams from the 1970s, the present Terps took aim at Michigan State with yet another chance to pick up another Quad 1 victory on the line.
After battling through a 12-point halftime deficit to take a brief lead, Maryland scored just six points in the final 8:26 as Michigan State climbed back in front. Trailing by two with seven seconds to go, Jahmir Young secured a rebound after a Tyson Walker missed a jumper and raced down the court with a chance to tie or take the lead with a three.
Young failed to even get a shot off, losing the ball out of bounds as time expired to give the Spartans the 61-59 victory in College Park.
The final play was a fitting end to the kind of game and season it has been for Maryland so far. The Terps turned the ball over a season-high 18 times on Sunday, with the final one being the nail in the coffin for the comeback attempt.
Maryland is now 0-5 in one-possession games.
“We haven’t been able to get a stop,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said about late-game situations. “Our pick-and-roll defense, we tried to change something up and it obviously didn’t work tonight. I’ve made some bad play calls.”
Young finished with a game-high 19 points, one game after he poured in 36 points on the road at Northwestern in Maryland’s second-straight one-possession loss. Despite his solid scoring performance, he committed a season-high seven turnovers, the final one being in crunch time.
“When your starting backcourt has 11 turnovers, that’s tough to overcome,” Willard said.
“They’ve been battling, playing hard all year, … we hurt ourselves. Our effort has been great, we’ve just had really bad turnovers and untimely turnovers and it’s just not one person, it’s been everybody.”
Maryland started the game firing on all cylinders, as consecutive threes from Scott and Young got the scoring started. The two combined for all of Maryland’s first 12 points, as 10 of Maryland’s first 12 field goal attempts were from three-point range.
After Jahari Long knocked down a corner three to give Maryland a 15-14 lead with 13:08 remaining, the scoring came to a screeching halt for the Terps.
Maryland failed to make a field goal for nearly ten minutes as Michigan State used a 17-1 run to surge ahead late in the first half.
Tre Holloman knocked down all four of his shot attempts, including three from three-point range to give him 12 first-half points. The Spartans were 6-10 from three-point range in the first half.
During the run, Maryland dealt with multiple scoring droughts of over three minutes, and did not make a field goal for nearly 10 minutes of play. After starting 5-10 from the field, the Terps missed their next 11 shots.
DeShawn Harris-Smith took the lid off the basket with 4:37 remaining in the first half with a layup through contact. That seemed to provide Maryland with a spark, as the Terps began to trim the lead back down to single digits.
Long knocked down two more threes late in the half to help cut the lead to seven with just over a minute to go. Holloman connected on a three, and four Michigan State free throws gave it a 12-point halftime lead.
Out of the break, Maryland took complete control of the pace. The Terps started the second half on an 11-2 run to slice into the lead.
“We just counted how many times we just gave them points in transition,” Willard said about his team’s halftime adjustments. “We got some open looks…but more or less just really concentrated on getting back on defense.”
Three’s from Young and Scott, paired with a tough layup through contact by Julian Reese, helped ignite the Xfinity Center.
Scott, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, continued his recent hot stretch again on Sunday. His layup with 12:16 remaining tied the game briefly at 48, and after two free throws from Malik Hall to give the Spartans a two-point advantage, a layup from Reese knotted things at 50 and secured momentum for the home team.
“My teammates started looking for me,” Scott said of his second half. “When they started looking for me, I was just ready to take on the challenge and make a shot, and that’s what I did.”
Michigan State struggled mightily to score in the second half. The Spartans made only one of 15 field goals during the Maryland run, going scoreless for over four minutes of play. The Spartans shot just 7-26 from the field and 1-6 from three-point range in the final 20 minutes.
The teams were scoreless for three minutes, as Maryland was unable to capture the lead it coveted. A three by Young finally restarted the scoring and gave Maryland its first lead since it was 15-14.
The lead was short-lived, as consecutive baskets from A.J. Hoggard and a layup from Walker pushed Michigan State back in front, 56-53.
Walker led the scoring for Michigan State with 15 points and was one of four Spartans to finish in double figures. Hoggard finished with 12 points, eight of which coming in the second half as Michigan State looked to withstand the punches thrown by the Terps.
With under a minute to go, Walker connected on a massive three to give the Spartans a four-point lead. Young quickly answered with what initially looked like a three, but after review was determined to be a long two.
Maryland then turned to its defense for one more stop. Willard’s group delivered, forcing a miss from Walker and a chance to tie or take the lead. As all of Xfinity rose to its feet, the Spartans made one final stand, forcing the turnover and securing a massive road victory.
“It’s a lot on us,” Scott said about the turnover issue. “We already discussed that they were going to be in the gaps and at times we didn’t really think about it too much. It didn’t work in our favor. Next time we just have to come more prepared and stick to the game plan.”
The Terps fall to 11-8 and 3-5 in Big Ten play with the loss. After defeating Illinois last Sunday, Maryland has squandered two massive Quad 1 opportunities with losses to Northwestern and Michigan State. Maryland will travel to Iowa for a matchup on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
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