Penn State scored four straight at the free throw line bringing the game within one point in the overtime period. Jahmir Young had been the catalyst throughout the game and overtime so when he had the ball near the top of the key the defense was locked in on the fifth-year guard.

What they didn’t see was the freshman guard DeShawn Harris-Smith cutting baseline. Young hit Harris-Smith who scored on a layup and converted the and-1 opportunity, giving Maryland a four point lead with 28 seconds remaining.

“Just seeing the defense is loaded up, staring at the basketball, they were getting lazy on the help side so, it was a good cut by DeShawn so when he cut backdoor, he was wide open so I just had to make sure I got it to him,” said Young.

Maryland men’s basketball beat Penn State, 81-75, Wednesday night earning their first conference win of the season. The win extends the Terps’ home winning streak to 16.  

That play wasn’t the only key play the freshman guard made down the stretch. After a pair of free throws from Julian Reese gave Maryland the lead, Penn State started the next possession getting the ball into the hands of Kanye Clary. Clary through a plethora of screens and switches ended up with a one-on-one matchup with Harris-Smith. Harris-Smith came out on top, stopping Clary and sending the Xfinity crowd into a frenzy.

Harris-Smith was fouled after corralling the rebound and hit one of the two free throws to increase the Terrapin lead to two, with 4.6 seconds remaining. The two teams lined up after a Penn State timeout, the Nittany Lions needing to go the length of the court, Maryland needing a stop.

Jahari Long intended to provide the stop, but the senior guard was too aggressive trying to jump the inbound pass, fouling Ace Baldwin Jr. Baldwin Jr. hit both at the line and a Young floater couldn’t provide the game winner Maryland fans hoped for, sending the game into overtime. That’s when Reese stepped up as a leader, said head coach Kevin Willard.

“I was just telling the guys, you know, lock in, you know the play’s over we got five more minutes of basketball and I felt like we took care of business,” said Reese postgame.

Maryland was sloppy to start the game and Penn State benefited from the lose play. The Terp’s first two possessions ended with turnovers and the Nittany Lions capitalized, jumping out to a 3-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish through the first half.

The Terps’ offensive struggles continued in the first half shooting under 30% from the field, making just 4 of their 14 layup attempts. The ball wasn’t going in from three either and only 3 of their 14 attempts hit netting. Maryland also turned the ball over eight times in the first half which resulted in seven Penn State points.

Maryland’s offense played better in the second half shooting over 40% from the field and converting opportunities at the free throw line scoring 19 points from the charity stripe. Reese was the main catalyst for the offensive improvement, scoring 17 in the second half on 4-5 from the field, making all but two of his free throws.

“I thought he did a great job of just all night long, you know, picking and choosing his spots, being physical, rebounding and obviously made his free throws,” said Willard.

Young finished as Maryland’s leading scorer putting 28 points on the board. Clary finished atop Penn State’s leader board finishing with 25 points.

The Terps will get a short break before returning to the Xfinity court on Tuesday to take on Alcorn State.