Maryland was down by one when Illinois senior Coleman Hawkins tried saving an offensive rebound, throwing it over his head before it went out of bounds. Jahmir Young intercepted the save, tipping it to himself on the fastbreak. 

Young drove with his left and rose for the layup, but couldn’t convert. Illinois got the rebound and passed it down court to Hawkins who laid it in while getting fouled. The score put Maryland down four with under three minutes to play.

“That was a huge momentum shift,” said Young. “That was definitely a big, the biggest play of the game. There’s a momentum shift, so we got to do a better job in the future of being able to bounce back from it.”

No. 14 Illinois (19-6, 10-4 Big Ten) continued to keep Maryland (14-12, 6-9 Big Ten) an arms length away, beating the Terrapins, 85-80, Saturday night at Xfinity Center.

The second half was a back and forth battle all the way through. Illinois managed to stay a step ahead of Maryland throughout getting a key bucket to end any Maryland momentum. The Terps were able to keep it close, staying within a score or two of the Illini. Maryland was never able to get that all important go ahead score. 

The Terps shot under 35% from the floor in the second half, although the team scored 42 points in the half, due in large part to their 16 made free throws. Young led Maryland with 28 points and Julian Reese was right behind him with 18. 

The Terps offense was reminiscent of the first time they met the Illini earlier this season defeating the then No. 10 team in the country on the road. Young and Reese combined to score 48 points in that game leading the Terps to a nine-point victory.

Illinois played the previous matchup without star guard Terrence Shannon Jr. due to a suspension. Shannon Jr. proved to be a difference in this game. Shannon Jr. scored 27 points on 6-16 shooting and between him and Marcus Domask the pair combined for over half the Illini total.

“The big thing was trying to get back and form the wall in transition because that’s really where, where he does all his damage,” said head coach Kevin Willard. “He’s a pro, he’s gonna make some good moves and score … for the most part he did most of his damage in transition.”

Illinois had 19 fastbreak points compared to just two for Maryland.

The pair played well in the first half as well, combining for 24 points. Maryland’s defense allowed 43 points in the first half which is just the second time this season the Terps have allowed a team to score over 40 points in a first half. The other team to do it was Michigan State on January 21.

The Terps stuck with them shooting 50% from the floor and scoring 38 points in the first half. Young and Reese led the way combining to score 25 points shooting over 50% from the floor. Harris-Smith added six points of his own to go along with a couple of celebrations after tough baskets, getting the packed Xfinity crowd going.

The Maryland community was out in full force packing Xfinity Center, despite the shock of earlier in the day at the passing of legendary coach Charles “Lefty” Driesell. Coach Driesell led multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament and as coach of Maryland he racked up a total of 348 wins, second in the program to Gary Williams. The Terps honored Driesell with a moment of silence before the game as well as the team donning throwback uniforms from the Driesell era.

“In the overall scheme of things this is a really sad day for Maryland basketball,” said Willard at the start of his press conference. “I want to give my condolences to Lefty’s family.” 

Maryland rolled out its third different starting lineup in as many games. Young, Julian Reese, and Mady Traore were joined by DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Kaiser Jr. as the first five to touch the court. Kaiser Jr. was a late addition to the starting lineup coming in for Donta Scott. 

Scott checked into the game about two minutes in wearing a brace on his left knee. Willard said postgame that Scott slipped in the tunnel causing his delay to the court. Scott finished the game with 17 points playing a little over 33 minutes. 

The Terps will be back on the court on Tuesday when they take on No. 20 Wisconsin in Madison.