Rodney Rice’s game-winning 3-pointer propels Maryland men’s basketball past Indiana, 79-78

Rice finished with a game-high 23 points.

Maryland men’s basketball trailed, 78-76, with just 18 seconds left in the game. After completely erasing a 10-point deficit minutes prior, Indiana’s home crowd poured noise over the Terps as they tried to organize their offense.

But Rodney Rice had one last improbable answer. With just 10 seconds left, Rice curled around a Julian Reese screen and hurled a heavily contested 3-pointer. The shot was money.

After some shaky sequences in the second half, the Terps came up huge when it mattered, taking down Indiana, 79-78, Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Rice finished with a game-high 23 points, his third 20-point performance of the season.

Indiana’s big men dominated early. While Maryland stayed in the game with 3-pointers from Rice and Ja’Kobi Gillespie, the Hoosiers capitalized on their towering frontcourt to generate easy scoring opportunities. Malik Reneau, Oumar Ballo and Mackenzie Mgbako — each standing at least 6-foot-9 — found the basket within the opening four minutes of play.

Former Hoosier Jordan Geronimo was one of head coach Kevin Willard’s first options off the bench, brought in to counter Indiana’s size and rebounding dominance. Geronimo finished the afternoon with no points, but grabbed two rebounds against his former team.

Indiana targeted Derik Queen early, with Ballo repeatedly muscling his way into the paint and grabbing offensive rebounds. Just nine minutes into the game, the Hoosiers had already built a commanding 16-4 advantage in points in the paint.

Then, the momentum shifted. Indiana suddenly went cold. Even after Ballo returned from a brief stint on the bench, the Hoosiers couldn’t regain their rhythm. Maryland’s switching defense and tight perimeter coverage stifled any attempts at interior penetration, holding Indiana without a field goal for four minutes.

Meanwhile, Maryland capitalized on its early success from beyond the arc. Rice and Gillespie combined to sink the Terps’ first four 3-pointers, giving their team a slight edge. The long-range success eventually cooled, with Maryland missing its next two attempts, but Reese stepped up to fill the scoring void. By halftime, Reese totaled 10 points and six rebounds.

Both teams stumbled to close the half, with Maryland going scoreless over the final 2:24 and Indiana missing its last four field goal attempts. Still, the Terps managed to take a narrow 38-37 lead into the locker room.

Maryland started the second half with a burst of energy, scoring four quick points in the opening 73 seconds. But the momentum stalled as both teams hit a scoring drought. Indiana opened the half an abysmal 0-of-6 from the field, while the Terps went scoreless for more than three minutes, committing two turnovers during that span.

A Gillespie 3-pointer finally broke the dry spell — a moment that has become routine for him this season. That shot ignited Maryland’s offense, and the floodgates opened.

Selton Miguel, who had been struggling at just 2-of-7 from the field, scored a layup and followed it up with back-to-back 3-pointers, pushing the Terps’ lead to nine points. Miguel scored 13 second-half points after tallying just two in the opening 20 minutes.

Maryland’s hot shooting continued, opening the half 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Yet Indiana refused to go away. Despite starting just 1-of-5 from 3-point range, the Hoosiers stayed within striking distance, as Myles Rice nailed two clutch triples in quick succession to cut Maryland’s lead to just three with 7:48 remaining.

Indiana’s 10-1 run ultimately cut the Terps’ lead to just one, but back-to-back Gillespie and Rodney Rice threes kept Indiana at bay.

Then, the Hoosiers’ 8-0 run ushered them into the lead, but it wasn’t enough to stop the surging Terps, who had one last push in them, finishing the game a perfect 4-of-4 from the field.

Three things to know

1. Gillespie and Rodney Rice were productive. Maryland’s two leading scorers also combined for nine of the team’s 12 3-pointers. The guard pairing was nails all game, making up for Queen’s subpar seven-point outing. Gillespie finished with 18 points, while Rodney Rice notched 23.

2. Another road win. Despite a road win over No. 17 Illinois Thursday, Maryland hasn’t been exceptional in hostile environments this year. But the Terps have proven to be up to the challenge lately, stealing another game away from Xfinity Center.

3. Big Ten standings. Heading into the contest, the Terps were in a five-way tie for fifth place in the Big Ten. Sunday’s win temporarily propels them to sole possession of fifth place.

from Testudo Times - All Posts https://ift.tt/hBdOgW5