Donta Scott put his head down and drove towards the basket, throwing the ball up over the arms of 6 ‘9 Mady Sissoko. The ball trickled down through the net, tying the game up and bringing an end to Michigan State’s lead that lasted nearly an entire first half. With ten minutes left to play, a win for Maryland was finally within reach.
After beating Illinois and losing to Northwestern on the road, the 11-7 Maryland Terrapins returned to Xfinity Center on Sunday for a noon tip-off against the 11-7 Michigan State Spartans.
Michigan State entered the matchup on a two-game win streak with an 18-point victory over Rutgers and a 10-point victory over Minnesota, and its spree would extend to three with a 61-59 finish over Maryland.
“We’ve kind of been hurting ourselves,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said post-game, reflecting on the loss. “I mean 18 turnovers, their effort’s been great, but we’ve just had really bad timing on turnovers. It’s not just one person. It’s everybody.”
Maryland’s starters included guards Jahmir Young and DeShawn Harris-Smith along with forwards Jordan Geronimo, Julian Reese and Donta Scott. For Michigan State, guards Jaden Akins, A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker opened the game with forward Malik Hall and center Mady Sissoko.
The opening minutes proved to be neck and neck with the lead flipping between both teams. It only took five minutes for Jahmir Young to account for half of his team’s 10 points, and for Michigan State, Malik Hall accounted for five of his team’s 10 points in that stretch as well.
The Spartans maintained a sturdy zone defense to start the half, forcing the Terps to take most of their shots from beyond the arc. The strategy proved useful for Michigan State, with three of Maryland’s mere five baskets coming from the perimeter in the first ten minutes thanks to Jahari Long, Scott and Young. The Spartans on the other hand had no trouble getting inside the paint, managing a 15-0 run as the period crossed the halfway mark.
With just over six minutes remaining in the half, Michigan State nearly doubled Maryland’s score at 31-16. In a stretch of eight minutes, the Terps suffered five turnovers while missing the basket on 11 straight shot attempts.
But in a sudden flip of momentum, Maryland managed five field goals (including a pair of three-pointers from Jahari Long) in the final four minutes to crawl back within 12 points at the half. The score at the break: 44-32, Michigan State.
“A couple of [Maryland] guys hit some threes that we weren’t expecting,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said in his post-game presser. “You know, [Jahmir] Young can make a few, but when [Jahari] Long made three in a row, that really hurt us.”
Maryland’’s point-leaders in the first half included Jahari Long and Jahmir Young (nine points), trailed closely behind by Donta Scott (eight points). For Michigan State, Tre Holloman led with 12 points, followed by Malik Hall with 10 and Tyson Walker with eight.
The Terps would start the second half like a completely different team. Three-pointers from Scott and Young combined with five points from Julian Reese to leave Maryland trailing by just three at the 16-minute mark.
And with eleven minutes remaining, the Spartans missed their ninth-straight basket which allowed Maryland to tie the score up again at 50-50 following a layup from Julian Reese. Four possessions later, the Terps retook the lead for the first time since the start of the first half with a three-pointer from Jahmir Young.
“Defensive intensity was the key to our comeback,” Donta Scott said afterwards in his presser. “In the second half we got a lot more keen to locking onto them in transition. In the first half, we didn’t really do that.”
The final minutes of the game were reminiscent of the starting minutes with the lead once again switching between teams. With a minute and a half left, Maryland trailed by just three points.
Michigan State used a timeout with 18 seconds left on the clock, then ahead by two. After a missed shot attempt by Tyson Walker, Jahmir Young dribbled down court with five seconds left but lost possession of the ball right as the clock hit zero. A basket would have signaled overtime.
The final point leaders for Maryland included Jahmir Young (19 points), Donta Scott (16 points) and Julian Reese (10 points, 12 rebounds). For Michigan State, Tyson Walker led with 15 points followed by Malik Hall, A.J. Hoggard and Tre Holloman who each tied with 12.
Maryland’s next game is in Iowa City on Wednesday against the 11-7 Iowa State Hawkeyes.
