The Maryland men’s basketball team entered a matinee matchup Feb. 6 against No. 16 Ohio State in a familiar situation — looking to snap a losing streak, earn a conference win and play at a high level from tip to horn.
Yet, the Terps were not able to accomplish any of those goals. Despite solid play from junior forward Donta Scott (25 points), the Terps (11-12, 3-9 Big Ten) failed to walk away victorious, and they fell, 82-67, to the Buckeyes (14-5, 7-3 Big Ten) at Value City Arena in Columbus.
“[Ohio State is] a very talented basketball team,” Maryland interim head coach Danny Manning said. “Not taking anything away from them. They played really well at home.”
Maryland got things rolling first. Graduate guard Fatts Russell scored the first basket of the game less than two minutes after the start, but it did not take long for Ohio State to respond. Buckeyes graduate guard Jamari Wheeler immediately followed that up with a 3-pointer. That basket sparked his team, as sophomore forward Zed Key quickly posted six more points.
Although Maryland junior center Qudus Wahab responded with two layups of his own, the Terps’ season-long struggles soon reappeared, causing the team to sink into a deeper hole. As Maryland struggled to generate offense, the Buckeyes capitalized. Ohio State went on an 8-0 run to claim a 17-6 lead.
But graduate guard Fatts Russell made a layup and Scott drained the Terps’ first 3-pointer of the game, trimming the Buckeyes’ lead to 18-12. The Terps’ brief spurt was not enough, as Ohio State continued to extend its lead.
“We have to reward ourselves for the execution,” Manning said. “We had opportunities to score the basketball. We missed some looks from the perimeter. We missed some looks inside the paint.”
As the first half progressed, Ohio State junior forward E.J. Liddell found his rhythm. Maryland appeared to have no answer for his skills. It started with a dunk that gave the Buckeyes a 30-16 lead against the Terps. He followed that up with three consecutive baskets.
However, Liddell’s first-half contributions went beyond his scoring abilities. Not only did he lead both teams in scoring the end of the first half (11 points), he also led his team in rebounds (five) and assists (four).
History repeated itself as Maryland trailed once again at the half, 42-29. The Terps’ offensive struggles were very apparent, as they only shot 32 percent from the field and 29 percent from deep. Only 10 points came from inside the paint.
“The biggest thing is when you go on the road, or any time in general, you can’t let a team shoot 60 percent in a half,” Manning said. “That’ll put you in a pretty big hole, which it did for us this evening.”
Maryland’s veterans also had quiet performances. Senior guard Eric Ayala and junior guard Hakim Hart combined for six points in the first half.
“[Ohio State] disrupted his rhythm, contested his shot,” Manning said of the Buckeyes’ defense against Ayala. “A lot of different guys on him, using their length and athletic ability. And just a rough shooting night from the perimeter for Eric.”
The Terps desperately needed to find an answer for their offensive struggles and discover a way to contain Liddell, but the second half was not much different than the first. Ohio State got things rolling first with a layup from Key, and Wheeler quickly drilled a 3-pointer.
Things soon went from bad to worse. Maryland freshman center Julian Reese turned the ball over, which sent Liddell on the fast break. His layup gave Ohio State its largest lead of the game to that point (52-31).
“We have to do a better job of putting up resistance and not letting them get to spots they got to early on in the game,” Manning said of the Buckeyes’ offense.
Even though the Terps continued to struggle as a team, Scott kept playing well offensively after a 10-point first half. Scott finished 8-for-13 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point range during a 25-point day.
Manning applauded Scott’s performance.
“Donta gave us great energy,” Manning said. “We needed the type of energy level from a lot of different other guys on our team, but when Donta’s playing like that, it opens up a lot of different things.”
Russell began to find his rhythm toward the end of the second half as he drained a deep shot and posted two other baskets from the field. Following Russell’s burst, Hart quickly drilled a shot from deep and put his team within 14 points of the Buckeyes (69-55).
Yet, Ohio State had an answer each time the Terps scored, and the Terps did not have a solution for Liddell. Their struggles continued until the final buzzer sounded.
Liddell finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Maryland concluded the contest shooting 39 percent from the field and 34 percent from behind the arc. Reese posted the only six points that came from the bench. Ayala and Hart did not reach double figures.
The Terps will face Iowa at home Feb. 10 and attempt to accomplish the same tasks as they tried to accomplish in Columbus. Scott will try to instill a mentality to fight within his teammates once again.
“I always try to motivate [my teammates] to compete,” Scott said.
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