Maryland Basketball avoids a road landmine at Penn State, 68-64
Rodney Rice was 1-12 from the field and hadn't made a shot in 32 minutes of game action. But with Maryland staring at potentially a devastating road loss to Penn State, Rice made his patented mid-range jump shot with 16 seconds to secure the win.
Rodney Rice was 1-12 from the field and hadn't made a shot in 32 minutes of game action. But with Maryland staring at potentially a devastating road loss to Penn State, Rice made his patented mid-range jump shot with 16 seconds to secure the win.
Resiliency was the theme of the Terps' 68-64 road win over Penn State. Maryland hasn't won in State College since 2015.
The Terps shot only 38% from the field, 33% from three-point range and scored zero bench points. It's the second straight game Maryland's struggled offensively.
But Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Derik Queen, Maryland's star duo, responded after a poor outing against Michigan State.
Gillespie took a potential game-winning three with time remaining, leading to the Spartans' half court heave. Queen went just 2-11 from the field against Michigan State.
Those two led the Terps in scoring on Saturday, combining for 42 points. They made 58% of their field goals and collected six combined steals.
"We needed to bounce back from that heartbreaking loss," Gillespie said.
Queen reached 20 points for the 10th time this year, the most by a Maryland freshman in 16 seasons, according to the Big Ten Network.
The Baltimore native has bounced-back after poor performances all season. Only once has Queen scored in single digits in consecutive games. After a slow start, he scored 13 second half points.
He followed a poor free-throw shooting game against the Spartans by going 7-8 from the line. Queen also played one of his best defensive games, grabbing four steals and two blocks.
"I got on Derik, it's time to be physical. Sometimes he tries to show his skills, but he was physical tonight and that was the difference," coach Kevin Willard said.
Gillespie was even more efficient. The Belmont transfer dished out seven assists and made three of his five three-point attempts.
Against Penn State's Ace Baldwin, Gillespie dominated. Willard has called him one of the best guards in the Big Ten and he continues to prove his coach right.
He's Evan Miya's top ranked point guard in the Big Ten. Gillespie is the fourth-highest scoring point guard in the conference and one of the best three-point shooting guards.
"I feel like I belong up there with all those guys," Gillespie said.
The Terps needed every basket from their two stars because Julian Reese and Rice struggled mightily offensively. Neither player looked like themselves, scoring a combined nine points on 4-23 shooting. But Reese was dominant defensively with six steals.
"Julian Reese won this game," Willard said.
It was another game where Maryland received nothing from its bench. The second unit has scored four or less points in four straight games.
Willard insists he's not concerned. But when multiple starters don't play well, which has happened the past two games, he has no alternate options to turn too.
But strong teams don't just win when everything goes right. Maryland played a sub-par game; in a venue it hasn't won in over a decade and gritted out a road win. After the emotional let-down of Wednesday's loss, that is impressive in itself.
