Jahmir Young received the inbound pass near the half court line and started to dribble the clock down. The Terrapins and Hawkeyes were tied, 67-67, and as the clock depleted down near six seconds Young made his move. The lefty drove toward his strong side getting downhill. Young got past his defender and scooped the ball off glass and in, giving Maryland a lead with 1.7 seconds left in the game. 

“The last play of the game I was like, you know, no matter what, the shots gotta go up with two seconds, like, you know, if you miss it so be it,” said head coach Kevin Willard. “We’re gonna get a go screen, you’re gonna have a whole empty side. I’m like just take it. If you get fouled, if you have to take a tough shot, but the last thing we want to do is take a shot with five seconds, now all of a sudden they get a rebound.”

Young’s 17 second half points helped propel Maryland to a come from behind victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes, 69-67, Wednesday night. The win ties the all-time series record between the teams and is the Terps’ first road win against the Hawkeyes since 2019.

Eight of Young’s 17 second half points came in the final two minutes of the game, giving Maryland the lead each time. The fifth-year guard hit two three-pointers before providing the game-winning layup in the final 21 seconds. 

The second half was a complete turnaround for Young who struggled to score in the first half. Young didn’t get his first points until he swished a corner three with a little under six minutes to play in the first half. Young ended his first 20 minutes of play going one for six scoring five points while contributing on the glass securing four rebounds.

The Terrapins’ defense was remarkable down the stretch holding the Hawkeyes without a made field goal in the last five minutes of the game. The Terps held the fifth best scoring offense in the country under 70 points for the fourth time this season.

“I’m proud of this group,” said Young. “It starts in practice. We get after it in practice and for our group to be that good defensively shows our potential, shows what we can do.”

The game followed a familiar script of Maryland’s most recent games. The Terps trailed after the first 20 minutes of action and then staged a comeback in the ladder 20, making the game close. The Terps lost their last two games by a combined five points and have five one-possession losses this season, making this win a positive flip from the recent trend. 

“I don’t know what it is we’re getting off to a little bit sluggish starts offensively, you know. I gotta figure that out because I think if we could get past that sluggish starts we put ourselves in much better situations,” said Willard. 

The Terrapin offense provided another positive aspect shooting over 45% in every category. Julian Reese and Donta Scott were big contributors to the success of the Maryland offense scoring a combined 31 points. Reese was an efficient six of eight from the floor and Scott continued his hot three-point shooting, rattling in two of his five attempts.

Maryland will look to bring the good energy from the win home on Saturday when the Terps take on Nebraska at the Xfinity Center.