Entering Wednesday night’s conference home opener, it seemed like Maryland basketball had a chance to set the tone early against Penn State to right the wrongs that have clouded its underwhelming 4-4 start to the season.
Trailing 44-37 midway through the second half, Maryland looked lifeless on their home court. The possibility of an 0-2 conference start was staring the Terps right in the face.
Jahmir Young and Julian Reese had other ideas.
It may have taken five extra minutes, but the southpaw duo combined for 52 points to push Maryland past Penn State, 81-75, in overtime.
Young (28 points and eight rebounds) was instrumental all night for Maryland. The senior was at the forefront of the Terps’ offensive attack through his relentless pressure on the Nittany Lions’ paint presence. Despite his 7-for-19 shooting performance, he did the majority of his work at the free-throw line by connecting on all 12 of his attempts.
And in overtime, when it mattered the most, the ball was in his hands. A drifting baseline floater and backdoor pass led to a DeShawn Harris-Smith and-one layup to push Maryland’s lead to three with under 30 seconds to play.
Two more free throws iced the game and the first conference win for Maryland.
“At the end of the game you’re going to put the ball in your best players’ hands,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said. “He only practiced for half of the practice yesterday so that was a gutsy effort by him.”
Reese, who finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds, was matched up against former Terps center Qudus Wahab, who transferred from the program after only one season.
As a freshman in the 2021-22 season, Reese was slotted behind Wahab for the majority of the year as Maryland’s center. It was clear that he entered Wednesday’s game looking to showcase the talent that got him into his role as the main interior cog for the Terps in his junior season.
“I thought he did a great job of just, all night long, picking and choosing his spots, being physical, rebounding and obviously making his free throws,” Willard said.
While his play on the court has spoken for itself, the voice Reese has developed in huddles and off the court has caught the eye of his coach.
“I think Julian Reese has developed into a heck of a leader,” he said. “He was the one after we went into overtime, he was the guy really talking and just saying, ‘Hey, let’s go. We’ve got five more minutes, let’s figure this out, let’s find a way.'”
“[There were] a lot of guys in the huddle down because of the foul that happened,” Reese said. “I was just telling the guys, ‘lock in, the play is over, we’ve got five more minutes.'”
After falling behind 20-9 in the first half while making only four field goals, it looked as though the flat-footed offensive performance against Indiana had made its way from Bloomington to College Park. Being gifted multiple days of practice at home after a tough road loss, the Terps had an opportunity to work through some of the major problems that have impeded their chances of being competitive.
With another slow start under its belt, Maryland was forced to lean on Young and Reese once again to find its way out of the slump.
The duo scored seven straight for the Terps to trim the lead to four with just under eight minutes to play in the first half.
Despite its shaky start, Maryland found itself down only two at the halftime break, shooting 28% from the field and 3-13 from three-point range. The Terps shot 1-of-11 from the field during the final minutes of the half.
To start the second half, it was more of the same for Maryland. Young and Reese rattled off seven points to give the Terps their first lead of the night at 37-35, but it was short-lived.
A nearly six-minute scoring drought paired with six turnovers allowed Penn State to use a 9-0 run to take the aforementioned 44-37 lead.
Kanye Clary handled the bulk of the scoring for Penn State with 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field. The crafty guard would knife his way into the paint at ease on Wednesday, adding seven free throws in the process.
Hometown product Ace Baldwin Jr. chipped in 16 points and did most of his damage at the line as well, going a perfect 9-9.
Donta Scott’s alarming performance in Friday’s loss to Indiana carried over into Wednesday, as the senior missed all but two of his 11 field goal attempts, including four from three-point range.
Both field goals he did connect on were big ones, a right-handed hook shot that gave Maryland a 58-57 lead with just over four minutes remaining, and an and-one layup to give Maryland a 76-71 lead in overtime.
His impact will have to be greater for Maryland to continue winning close games.
“It was great just for us to be able to stick together,” Young said. “It was a long game, so for us to keep [our] focus and come together instead of if something doesn’t go our way just going our separate ways was great. I felt like as a team, it was a great team effort.”
Outside of Young and Reese, a poor-shooting Maryland team needed another piece to step up. Despite a 2-for-8 shooting performance, freshman forward Jamie Kaiser Jr. scored in double-figures for the first time as a Terp and looked more comfortable doing so.
“He’s like the Energizer Bunny, man,” Willard said of Kaiser Jr. “He comes in and gives us great energy, sometimes that hurts him on his shot because he plays so hard and he’s moving, but he fits that group really well.”
Kaiser Jr. shot four of Maryland’s 39 free throws, an area the Terps completely dominated Penn State in. Maryland shot 18 more free throws than the Nittany Lions, a disparity that was evident in the outcome.
Maryland dominated the rebounding margins, grabbing 22 more boards than Penn State. The Terps snagged 23 offensive rebounds in the victory.
“That’s really just effort,” Reese said. “Just attacking the glass hard and just wanting it more than our opponent. I felt like we got after it in the first half when shots weren’t falling.”
With the win, Maryland moves to 5-4 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. The Terps will welcome Alcorn State into College Park on Tuesday, Dec. 12 to begin its last stretch of non-conference play.
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