COLLEGE PARK — In a men’s basketball game that could have signaled a transition of power in the Big Ten, Maryland’s arrival as a worthy successor was halted momentarily.
Taking on one of the co-leaders in the conference, the No. 16 Terps scored seven consecutive points in a 90-second span to tie the game, but then could only watch as junior shooting guard Tre Holloman lobbed a 50-foot shot before the horn sounded to send No. 8 Michigan State to a stunning 58-55 victory Wednesday night before a sold-out crowd at Xfinity Center.
Maryland mounted a late comeback, scoring seven consecutive points in a 90-second stretch to tie the score at 55 with 42 seconds to go. After a Spartans miss, junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie had an opportunity to win the game, but his 3-point attempt glanced off the front rim, junior power forward Jaxon Kohler grabbed the rebound, and he passed the ball to Holloman for his game-winning shot.
The setback was Maryland’s third in a row against a top-10 opponent. More importantly, the result dropped the Terps (21-7, 11-6) behind No. 11 Wisconsin (22-6, 12-5) to fourth place in the Big Ten and three games behind the Spartans (22-6, 14-3).
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If Maryland and Wisconsin finish the regular season with the same record in the conference, the Terps would earn the better seed in the league tournament courtesy of the head-to-head tiebreaker via a 76-68 victory Jan. 29. That likely won’t be decided until after their regular-season finale against Northwestern (15-13, 6-11) on March 8, and coach Kevin Willard was more concerned with how Wednesday’s game developed. .
“We had fought so hard to come back,” Willard said. “Got a great rebound, got the push, and then that’s just a tough way to lose a game. But give them credit. They got back, they came back, and Holloman hadn’t made a shot all night. So once he released it, I knew that thing was going in.”
Sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice scored a game-high 20 points and added two steals to pace Maryland, Gillespie amassed 15 points, three assists and two steals, and freshman center Derik Queen racked up 10 points and 10 rebounds. But the Terps lost for the first time in five games and slipped to 16-2 this winter at Xfinity Center, falling at home to a league opponent for the first time this season and losing at home for the first time since a 78-74 setback to then-No. 15 Marquette on Nov. 15.
“Down by seven, we fought back, tied the game up,” Rice said. “It was a roller coaster of emotions. We stayed with that, and in the end, that shot just went through.”
Freshman shooting guard Jase Richardson, the son of former Spartans great Jason Richardson, led the team in both points (15) and rebounds (eight), and Holloman chipped in nine points, three assists and two rebounds. Michigan State collected its fourth straight victory and extended a seven-game winning streak against Maryland.
Coach Tom Izzo thought the right team triumphed.
“I felt we deserved to win the game,” he said. “I don’t think it was a lucky shot at the end. I thought we played inspired basketball, good defensively, moved the ball. We got Jase Richardson going, and give Kevin credit. Then they went back to the zone and took him out of it a little bit, and then he started cramping up. So we had to get him in and out. All in all, ugly game, but for us, a pretty win is better than an ugly loss, and it was an ugly game because both teams played so hard.”
Wednesday was a study in contrasts. While Maryland fielded a starting five that entered the game combining for an average of 70.4 points that led all teams from major conferences, Michigan State routinely depended on a bench that ranked fifth nationally in points at 35.7 per game and had received 30 points or more from its reserves in 22 of 27 games.
Despite those lofty numbers, offensive production was a slog for both sides. While the Terps converted just 31.3% of their shots (15 of 48) and went 20% from 3-point range (4 of 20), the Spartans connected on only 33.8% from the field (22 of 65) and 26.7% from long distance (4 of 15).
It was similar sledding in the first half. Maryland was forced to endure droughts of 3:35 and 4:39 en route to shooting just 28.6% (8 of 28), including only 10% (1 of 10) from 3-point range. Michigan State was slightly better at 29% (9 of 31) but missed all five of its attempts from long distance and battled droughts of 4:09 and 3:55.
Then again, both teams have built strong reputations on defense. Entering the game, the Spartans ranked second in the Big Ten in fewest points allowed per game at 67.2, and the Terps ranked third at 67.3.
In a sign of how difficult it was to score against Michigan State, the offense scored four straight points to give Maryland a 27-24 lead with 16:37 left in the second half, and that would be the team’s biggest lead of the game. The Spartans replied by scoring six unanswered points and staying ahead for much of the frame.
When Gillespie sank two free throws with 7:21 remaining, Richardson took center stage. He grabbed an offensive rebound after senior center Szymon Zapala missed the second of two free throws and turned that opportunity into a layup.
Richardson then drained a pair of free throws and nailed a midrange jumper to give Michigan State a 52-43 advantage — the team’s largest of the game — with 5:24 to go. When Rice’s 3-pointer and Queen’s two free throws cut the deficit to 52-48, redshirt freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. hit a 3-pointer to give Michigan State a 55-48 cushion with 3:12 remaining.
Maryland got on the board first when Queen, the Baltimore native, nailed a midrange jumper just 12 seconds into the game. But the offense went stale for the next 3:35, opening the door for Michigan State to reel off seven unanswered points, including the first five by Richardson.
The Terps managed to rally, but every time they tied the score, the Spartans answered with a bucket to remain in front. Even after Gillespie banked in a jumper to give Maryland its second lead of the first half with 3:25 to go, sophomore small forward Coen Carr beat the defense and threw down a dunk eight seconds later to knot the score at 19.
Trailing 21-19 with less than two minutes remaining, the Terps got two free throws from Queen at the 1:34 mark and a running layup by graduate student small forward Selton Miguel — his only points of the first half — to take a 23-21 lead into halftime.
Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
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No. 16 Maryland at Penn State
Saturday, noon
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