COLUMBUS, Ohio — One somber player after another emerged from the Maryland men’s basketball team’s locker room Saturday night following an excruciating 79-75 loss to Ohio State in double overtime. Some bowed their heads and stared at the floor on their way to the charter bus. Others offered sighs of frustration as the Terrapins’ vanishing NCAA tournament hopes took another crippling blow.
The defeat at Value City Arena was the Terps’ third in a row, and it was all but sealed when forward Donta Scott had his potential tying shot blocked with eight seconds to go in the second extra session. Ohio State’s Roddy Gayle Jr. had an emphatic run-out dunk to make it official.
More than a minute earlier, Ohio State had claimed the lead for good at 77-75 on Bruce Thornton’s layup through heavy congestion in front of a crowd of 13,471 that gave the Buckeyes a prolonged ovation when their five-game losing streak ended.
Despite a game-high 26 points from Jahmir Young, the Terps (13-11, 5-8 Big Ten) were left to sort out all that went sideways down the stretch, especially five straight missed free throws in the closing stages of the first overtime and the early part of the second. Forward Julian Reese missed four in a row during that stretch; Maryland went 20 for 30 at the foul line overall.
“Just free throws,” said Scott, who had 19 points but missed a pair of foul shots with 48 seconds left in the second half; Maryland would have had the lead if he converted either. “If I had made my two free throws, this wouldn’t even be a conversation. We had good defense, and they made some shots we didn’t make. That really was it.”
Other unsightly details in its latest missed opportunity to claim a Quadrant 1 triumph included Maryland shooting 38.7 percent and committing a dozen turnovers. The Terps also got just nine points from their reserves.
Thornton led the Buckeyes (14-10, 4-9) with 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Gayle added 17 points for Ohio State Coach Chris Holtmann, whose job security has been in question after Ohio State dropped eight of nine since Jan. 6.
Most recently, the Buckeyes blew an 18-point lead during a 76-73 home loss to Indiana on Tuesday. They mounted a rousing comeback against Maryland, which wasted a double-digit first-half lead, fell to 2-6 against Quadrant 1 opponents and dropped to 1-7 in games decided by four points or fewer.
“We missed a lot down the stretch free throw-wise, but they ran the same plays and they made shots. We didn’t,” Young said. “We had numerous opportunities to win the game, so it’s a tough loss. The whistles didn’t go our way as well. There were a lot of things that just built up.”
The catalyst for some of the Terps’ most exhilarating wins this season, Young was unable to convert at the end of the second half and in the first overtime with the score tied in each instance. The fifth-year point guard missed a short jumper with two seconds to play in the first overtime. His contested turnaround jumper bounced off the front of the rim in the closing seconds of regulation before Scott collected the offensive rebound but was unable to release a shot as time expired with the score knotted at 68.
“That’s basketball,” Maryland Coach Kevin Willard said. “We gave ourselves opportunities. The thing is we missed our free throws. All the other stuff is — [if] we make our free throws, we win the game. I’m proud of them. They gave great effort. We’re battling. We’re struggling, obviously, offensively, but we’re giving ourselves chances to win.”
In part out of necessity, Willard shuffled his starting lineup to include 6-foot-11 sophomore Mady Traore in place of ailing forward Jordan Geronimo, who did not play and was seen with protective black tape around the fingers of his right hand. Willard also started Jamie Kaiser Jr. over fellow freshman DeShawn Harris-Smith. Kaiser failed to score and committed three fouls in 11 minutes, and Harris-Smith, coming off the bench for the first time, finished with three points on 1-for-5 shooting.
Traore made an immediate impact, tipping in Reese’s missed jumper for the game’s first points. He also was on the court during the Terps’ 10-2 surge that opened a 28-18 lead with 8:02 to play in the first half. Maryland wilted in the closing minutes of the half, failing to score over the last 5:35 while missing seven field goal attempts in a row.
Thornton’s basket with five seconds left gave the Buckeyes a 33-32 halftime lead. Ohio State had not led before his acrobatic shot capped Ohio State’s nine consecutive points over the final 3:35.
“I don’t know. That’d be a question you’d have to ask the collective,” Scott said of the Terps’ resolve with seven games left in the regular season, starting with Wednesday vs. Iowa. “I know my confidence level. I know I’m capable of doing certain things, and I know my teammates are capable of doing certain things.”
