By Gill Vesely
The Minnesota Golden Gophers relied on strong foul shooting down the stretch to snap their double-digit losing streak and upset the Maryland Terrapins Thursday in Minneapolis.
The Terps were without the services of freshman big man Diamond Stone after the school suspended the center following a physical altercation in Maryland’s 70-57 loss to Wisconsin Feb. 13.
Stone, who averages more than 12 points per game, took the game in wearing street clothes and watched as sophomore Damonte Dodd got the start for the Terps.
Joey King and the Gophers started off hot from three. King was 3-for-4 from deep and teammates Dupree McBrayer, Kevin Dorsey, and Nate Mason hit one apiece.
The Terps brought the early Minnesota lead to within two at 22-20 after a Rasheed Sulaimon three about halfway through the first half. Mason sunk another three with about eight minutes remaining in the half, giving the Gophers a 28-20 lead.
After a timeout, the Terps got a basket but gave one up, too, allowing the eight-point Minnesota lead to persist until fewer than seven minutes remained in the half. A banked-in jumper by Dorsey gave the Gophers a 10-point lead as the Terps continued to turn over the ball.
Sulaimon took on three Gophers to finish on a play in transition with 3:20 left in the half. He sunk the corresponding free throw to close the gap to 34-27, Minnesota, but Jordan Murphy threw down a thunderous dunk on the other end for the Gophers.
Mason hit two free throws with less than a minute remaining in the half, giving the Gophers an 11-point lead, their largest of the game. The Terps turned the ball over on the next possession. They would finish the first half with eight giveaways.
The Gophers led 40-29 at halftime.
Jake Layman started the Terps off on the right foot in the second half, sinking a three within the first minute of play to bring Maryland within eight. The Terps’ Robert Carter then hit a pair of free throws to close the gap to six.
A few minutes later, after a steal by McBrayer and a finish by Dorsey, the Gophers were back up to a 12-point lead at 48-36 with about 12:30 to go in the game. The teams seemed to trade baskets until Sulaimon got a three to go with 7:47 left to get the lead down to 54-50, Minnesota.
Sulaimon then used his momentum to make two free throws, bringing the Terps within two. At the 3:54 media timeout, the Gophers clung to a 59-55 lead following a three from Mason.
Melo Trimble did his job at the free throw line from the Terps out of the break and Sulaimon connected on a timely three to put Maryland up 60-59 with about three minutes remaining.
From that point on, the game’s intensity ramped up markedly. King hit two from the stripe to get Minnesota up one. Murphy hit a free throw. Sulaimon hit a free throw on the other end, putting the score at 62-61, Gophers.
Layman came up with a big steal, but Trimble promptly turned the ball over, giving Mason the opportunity to hit two free throws and put the home team up 64-61 with 20 seconds remaining. Four more free throws from the Gophers in the final seconds put the game away, and Minnesota was able to pull off the win, 68-63.
The Terps turned the ball over 15 times throughout the game to the Gophers’ 11. Sulaimon posted a career-high 28 points, Layman had 11, and Trimble had 10. Mason finished with 18 (including three triples), Murphy had 17, and King had 15. The Gophers were 15-of-16 from the line in the second half. Prior to the victory, Minnesota had lost its last 14 contests. Maryland saw its first pair of back-to-back losses on the season.
Next up for Minnesota is Rutgers on Feb. 23. The Terps look to take on Michigan Feb. 21.
