Maryland controls Ohio State for 75-60 win inside electric Xfinity Center

Fatts Russell and Eric Ayala combined for 50 points as Maryland handled Ohio State in a 75-60 win on Sunday afternoon.

Behind undoubtedly Maryland’s most energetic crowd since December 29 vs. Virginia Tech, Maryland fans soaked in the return of Rock and Roll part two just prior to tipoff on the day that the 2002 national championship team honored and back on campus. Maryland fed off the energized crowd to open the game and opened the game on an 8-0 run.

The three from Fatts Russell capped off the run and forced Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann to call a timeout just minutes into the game, ironically giving Russell a brief chance to celebrate his 2,000th career points, but the Buckeyes responded out of the break with their own 14-4 run to narrow the gap. With the game tied at 16 with eight minutes left in the first half, star guard Eric Ayala took control of the game to score the Terps’ next 11 points before Donta Scott’s jumper gave Maryland a 29-24 advantage with four minutes left. Fatts Russell capitalized on the increased energy out of the 2002 championship team ceremony during the final media break of the first-half, finishing Ayala’s steal for an and-one opportunity at the rim to push the lead to six.

Maryland took a 32-28 lead into the locker room after shooting 43% from the field and turning six Buckeye turnovers into seven points.

As Wahab and Buckeyes forward Zed Key battled in the post to open the half, Jahmari Weaver scored the first eight points for the Buckeyes to trim the lead to two but Maryland would respond to Ohio State’s runs in the final half. Behind a one-point lead, Fatts Russell capped off a Julian Reese offensive rebound with another three to push the lead to 44-40. Minutes later, Donta Scott finished his offensive rebound with a putback to extend the lead back to four with a free-throw to go coming out of the under-12 timeout.

With Maryland clinging to a 53-50 lead, the Buckeyes would switch to a 2-3 zone but that didn’t dissuade Ayala from carving his way to the rim on the ensuing sequence. After the Buckeyes cut the lead to four with under seven minutes remaining, Xavier Green knocked down one of two from the free-throw line but Julian Reese's offensive rebound on the second free-throw gave Maryland another scoring opportunity that ended in a Fatts Russell triple, pushing the lead back to eight and sending Xfinity erupting once more.

Eric Ayala put the bow on Maryland’s day as he drained his second triple of the day with four minutes remaining, pushing Maryland’s lead to 64-53 heading into the final media timeout.

With three minutes left, Ayala found his way to the rim once more for another and-one opportunity to push the Terps’ lead to 68-55. The Terps never let the lead slip away as they walked out of their third win over a ranked win, this time topping the Buckeyes 75-60.

During the first half’s final media timeout, Maryland’s student section also rolled out their first flash mob of the 2021-22 season before the 2002 national champion Maryland Terrapins were honored.