SEATTLE, Wa. — Colorado State senior Jalen Lake caught a pass behind the 3-point line on the right wing without a Maryland defender in sight. Lake’s shot went through the net with six seconds left and Maryland fans could feel the dread of another late game heartbreaker — a feeling all too familiar this season. With less than four seconds remaining and the Terps down by a point, freshman Derik Queen told his coach he wanted the shot.
“I asked the guys, I said ‘Who wants the ball?’,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “[Queen’s] exact words: ‘I want the MF ball.’”
Queen caught the inbound pass and drove left toward the hoop. He gathered his dribble, took his allotted two steps, and shot a one-legged floater. The ball hit glass first then fell perfectly through the net. The Baltimore native washed away a season of heartbreaking memories with a heart-racing game winner.
The fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins defeated Colorado State, 72-71, Sunday evening, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016.
“These guys have bounced back every time we’ve had a buzzer beater and really the gut punch was Michigan State,” said Willard. “These guys have shown such character in how they bounce back.”
Queen’s iconic shot was the crown atop a brilliant performance by the 6-foot-10 freshman. Queen led all Maryland scorers with 17 points making, seven of his 12 shot attempts. The majority of his scoring came in the first half as the Terps struggled on the offensive end.
Queen finished the first half with 12 points missing only two shots. The rest of the Terps combined for 18 points on 21% shooting.
Colorado State dominated the half playing its patented fast-paced, ball-movement-heavy style of basketball.
The Rams made 16 field goals throughout the opening 20 minutes, registering an assist on half of them. Fifth year guard Nique Clifford paced the Rams with 12 points and four rebounds, as the team ended the half shooting 50% from the floor. Colorado State led by seven at the break.
“We watched film after Grand Canyon and I said ‘this might be the best team we’ve played all year’,” said Willard. “Offensively they pass the ball, they screen well … this is just a great win for our guys.”
Things changed in the second half as Maryland fought to keep its season alive.
Rodney Rice started the final 20 minutes with his second 3-pointer of the game following a first half in which he made just one single shot attempt out of the eight. Rice converted his third long-range shot shortly after and dismissed any evidence of his struggles with a 13-point second half.
“[I] haven’t been shooting the ball well,” said Rice. “I’m looking to turn that around. I’m [going] to still be aggressive. I’m gonna still be myself, but yeah I got to make a shot.”
The rest of the “Crab 5” aided Rice in the comeback effort by playing all but five minutes in the second half (DeShawn Harris-Smith played two minutes Jordan Geronimo contributed three). Maryland’s starting lineup all finished with double figures in the points column, shooting just shy of 42% from the floor.
Colorado State played a solid second half as well, finishing the period with 34 points on 43% shooting.
Clifford ended as the game’s leading scorer with 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Lake, Kyan Evans, and Bowen Born all tallied ten or more points as the Rams were attempting to get to their first Sweet since 1969.
Instead, it’s the Terps that will stay on the West Coast for the second weekend. Maryland will travel south down into San Francisco for its next game against the top seed in the region — the Florida Gators. That game will be on Thursday at 7:39 EST.
