No. 23 Wisconsin staves off a massive Maryland men’s basketball comeback, Terps drop their third straight
(Photo Courtesy of Maryland Athletics.)
Eric Ayala didn't even hesitate. He didn't size up his opponent or requite the defense time to prepare for his three point dagger. He simply rebounded the ball, ran the fast break, pulled upward and drained a shot well over 30 feet away from the rim — as if he hadn't missed his beginning five shots of the night.
It was the shot that started Ayala'due south 19 bespeak operation and exemplified Maryland'southward impressive second half outburst — poised play that mirrored the offset ten minutes of the contest.
In their first home game of 2022, the Terps' seemingly routine slow start managed to doom Maryland men'southward basketball in a way it hadn't been all season.
Then, Maryland woke up. Down 21 points and without whatever meaningful momentum, the Terps created some, erupting for xv unanswered points with just under x minutes left in the opening one-half, and started working toward a more than respectable scoreline.
As impressive as information technology was, beingness potentially 1 of the largest comebacks in Maryland history, it was not enough to truly swing the game all the fashion in Maryland's favor. The Terps were tireless offensively but could not edge the Badgers in the end. Equally a issue, Maryland (8-7, 0-four B1G) lost its 4th directly Big Ten matchup to No. 23 Wisconsin (13-2, 4-1 B1G), 70-69.
"I dearest the fight of our team," interim head coach Danny Manning said. "I don't like information technology when we give upward such an early on lead like nosotros did tonight. Merely we've shown that we take the wherewithal to proceed to observe a way to claw, fight and scratch and go back into the ballgame."
After 12 minutes of lifeless basketball that featured turnovers, scrambled defence and just iv made field goals, the Terps began looking for shots with verve and attacking the handbasket at will. And the sub-30% field goal percent began increasing every bit the aggressive shot taking was complemented by impressive shot making.
In the xv-0 run, Maryland put the lethargic play behind information technology. Hakim Hart kneaded his manner through the lane to commencement the run. Subsequently, Donta Scott tuckered an and-one 3 signal jumper and Xavier Light-green, a primary defender who's averaged nether two points per game, hit a fast-break 3 and pull-upward jumper to help cutting the deficit to six. Green ended with a season loftier x points, missing just one shot.
"[Information technology was] my teammates for real," Green said. " … building confidence in me, getting those passes to me and me beingness set up to shoot and information technology just all just translated."
But the Terps needed more. The commanding run granted them life, a, 33-26, arrears. Only they needed a bonafide scorer, only as Wisconsin had in player of the yr candidate Johnny Davis, who concluded the half with a game-high 11 points.
Enter Eric Ayala. The Terps' quiet leader, who went scoreless in the first half, livened up and took over to start the second one-half.
"I thought he just made his mind up to go play," Manning said. "I think a lot of it, he thought similar: 'I gotta go make some plays from a team. I gotta make some shots for my team.' And he certainly did that in a second one-half."
A pair of back-to-back threes got the oversupply loud and gave Maryland its beginning pb of the night. A 3 soon subsequently by Ayala, spiked his confidence and began vitalizing Maryland's upset hopes. The next field goal, an and-one bucket past Ayala that was followed by a hook shot by Julian Reese, gave the Terps their largest lead, 44-41.
Merely even as the crime was chugging the defense withal had to answer to an elite Wisconsin offense.
As Davis worked his way to a rather inefficient 19 point finish, forward Tyler Wahl took reward of a mismatch in Donta Scott and manufactured a 12 betoken second one-half that kept the Badgers adrift and helped add together to his 21 point outing. That, and the slow start that Maryland suffered in the first half, was ultimately the deviation.
The Terps stayed shut and matched the Badgers for nearly every bucket down the stretch, but failed to sneak past Wisconsin, even in the belatedly-game free throw effort, where Maryland ended but an Ayala one-half court heave short of its kickoff Wisconsin victory.
"We correct there," Ayala said. "If anybody notices that, nosotros right there."
Source: http://wmucsports.net/no-23-wisconsin-staves-off-a-massive-maryland-mens-basketball-comeback-terps-drop-their-third-straight/
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