Maryland Outlast Michigan State 67-60
The Terps score the last 14 pts of game to stun the Spartans
By Zachary Wilson and Wayne Viener
Putting their highly stressful win against Nebraska in the rear-view mirror, Maryland aspired to extend their win streak to eight and remain atop the conference leaderboard as they faced Michigan State. UMD would seek their first road win against the Spartans since UMD joined the Big Ten back in 2014.
Maryland, while not having a perfect start, quickly settled into their offense led by Anthony Cowan. About five minutes into the game, Maryland’s offense picked up the pace. Attacking with speed and burst off of fast breaks and drawing fouls, accumulating free throws and hitting the 3-ball, Maryland pushed out to a 15 point lead.
Maryland backed that up with defense that forced shots inside-holding MSU to 12.5% from three in the first half. In a continuation of his success last game, Eric Ayala started off well here, making 4 of his first 6 shots. In fact, Maryland’s 15-point lead was their largest lead on the road this season. Even with this, MSU would find a spark at the very end of the half and only trail by 8 entering the locker room.
Michigan State, to the dismay of Mark Turgeon, proved that their run at the end of the first was no fluke, as their continued pressure took control of the contest, erasing the lead and turned it into a MSU lead by as much as 7 with 3:24 left.
For those that may look back on this season, the last 3:24 will be replayed for years to come. UMD stood on their heels and struck back hard, riding a 14-0 scoring run to take back the lead once and for all and secure the victory. Cowan was icy hot with 12 points in the closing minutes while Stix played like the All-American he has become.
UMD will be on short rest as they return home to face the Northwestern Wildcats on Tuesday, November 18th. It will be no cakewalk, as evident by their prior faceoff this year where Maryland had to battle back from being down 14 after the half.
Notable Statlines, The Good and The Not So Good:
The Good:
Anthony Cowan-Pouring in 24 points on 5-9 shooting from deep, Cowan put the team on his back and made the crucial shots for Maryland when they needed to bounce back after dropping their big lead late. Cowan has really begun to live up to the position he plays, getting better and more comfortable taking shots all around the floor and getting to the line (He would go 9-9 from the FT line tonight) to find those hard-earned buckets.
Jalen Smith-8 of 14 shooting, 24 points, 10 rebounds, his 8th consecutive double-double, what more can you ask for? Sometimes I wish he would shoot 100 times just so we could all see how great he consistently is.
The Not So Good:
Allowing MSU To Get Back the Lead-It’s hard to believe this is NOT the first time that Maryland blew a 13+point lead, the last time being against Nebraska last game, and it seems like they’ve gained a new trait after finding a way to stop starting off so slow. Hopefully Turgeon can find ways to better manage his bench so astronomical comebacks like the last two nights don’t become commonplace.
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