It was now or never for the Maryland men’s basketball team. It had one more chance to continue its season months after it was ranked No. 21 in the AP Top 25 poll during the preseason.
The team entered the season with high expectations after several transfers joined the program. But Mark Turgeon stepped down as head coach in early December, and the group exhibited numerous struggles.
Despite the chaos, the team never gave up. And it did not give up against Michigan State in the second round of the Big Ten tournament March 10.
It came down to the final seconds of the game. The Terps overcame a 20-point deficit to get within two points of the Spartans with 16 seconds left in the game. Senior guard Eric Ayala then forced a Michigan State turnover to give Maryland a chance to tie or take the lead. Graduate guard Fatts Russell stepped back and prepared to nail a 3-pointer that would give the Terps the lead on the ensuing possession.
But Russell missed. Michigan State converted a pair of free throws that sealed the game. Ayala took one final deep shot in the waning moments. He missed, and that was it.
Maryland (15-17, 7-13 Big Ten) fell, 76-72, to Michigan State (21-11, 11-9 Big Ten). Russell led the Terps with 20 points and seven rebounds. Ayala had 17 points, and junior forward Donta Scott had 15 points. Both finished with six rebounds.
Interim head coach Danny Manning applauded his team’s efforts until the very end. Players also thanked Manning for stepping into the position, never giving up on them and fighting with them.
“It wasn’t as easy on [Manning]. He came in a situation where he wasn’t expecting to be a head coach this late in the season, and he did a hell of a job of keeping us together and fighting,” Ayala said. “And I thank him a lot for just sticking with us because it would have been easy for him to just give up and just say he didn’t want to do it. And he fought with us.”
Although Maryland’s season ended, its veterans fought until the end.
“We had three seniors that played today. It’s probably our last college basketball game,” Russell said, referring to himself, Ayala and graduate guard Xavier Green. “So what you see out there was … desperation. We just didn’t want it to be our last game with each other.”
Maryland got off to a slow start, and about midway through the first half, the Spartans started to build a lead. It began with a 3-pointer from junior guard Tyson Walker. Junior forward Julius Marble hit two consecutive jumpers. Freshman guard Max Christie followed with a 3-pointer to put Michigan State up by nine points (28-19) with about eight minutes to play in the half.
Scott then went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury. He returned to the game after a few minutes. Manning said Scott’s return motivated the team even more.
“Having him come back into the ballgame after turning his ankle like that was a big momentum swing for the whole team,” Manning said.
But the Terps have been fighting all season and would not back down. Russell snagged a defensive rebound and scored on a driving layup inside the paint on a fast break. Green followed with a 3-pointer. Seconds later, Green stole the ball and scored a layup on a fast break to get Maryland within three points (33-30).
Maryland struggled defensively in the first half. The Terps committed six fouls, were outrebounded 18-14 and allowed the Spartans to score 21 points off of 3-pointers.
“I want to say [there were] three to five possessions in that first half where we got them to take a tough shot, and they knocked it down,” Manning said. “And at that point, you’ve just got to tip your hat to them and try to make it a little bit harder for them to catch it next time.”
The Terps trailed 43-34 at the end of the first half, and they did not score a field goal during the final two minutes of the half. Ayala led the Terps with 12 points, while Russell scored nine points and posted four rebounds. The Terps shot 41 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep.
Maryland had 20 more minutes to continue the fight.
About four minutes into the second half, Michigan State senior forward Gabe Brown made a layup, forced a foul and made the ensuing free throw to give the Spartans their largest lead of the game (50-37) to that point. Things soon went from bad to worse. A few minutes later, Brown drilled a 3-pointer that gave his team a 20-point advantage (57-37).
Scott finally broke a five-minute scoring drought for the Terps by nailing a 3-pointer, which he followed up with a dunk. Russell then stole the ball from Marble, sprinted down the court and made a driving layup on a fast break. However, the Terps still trailed by 15 points (59-44).
Time was running out for the Terps.
“We never stopped fighting,” Russell said. “We got in the huddle. We told each other that we were going to give it all we’ve got for these last couple minutes. And we almost pulled it off.”
Michigan State freshman guard Jaden Akins drained a 3-pointer with three minutes left in the game, which appeared to seal the victory for the Spartans. The basket gave them a 10-point lead (68-58).
But Maryland’s veterans were not done. With less than two minutes to go, Green snagged the ball at midcourt. While on the ground, Green passed the ball to junior guard Hakim Hart, who sprinted down the court and made the layup. Maryland now had less than two minutes to overcome a six-point deficit.
Seconds later, Green stole the ball and immediately passed the ball to Russell, who nailed a 3-pointer to put Maryland within three points (68-65).
“We were just playing with a sense of urgency at the end,” Ayala said. “Our pressure gave us a chance to get back in the game, and we just tried to make plays out of it, executing out of the steal. It definitely helped us a lot at the end.”
But turnovers and fouls plagued the Terps within the game’s final seconds. Like it had all season, Maryland fought until the final buzzer sounded. But it just was not enough.
“This team fights. We’ve been through a lot. Nobody ever quit, nobody ever put their head down,” Russell said. “We have a team full of fighters in the locker room there, and I’m just proud of everything.”
The future of the Maryland men’s basketball program may be uncertain, but the seniors will never forget their time in a Maryland uniform.
“I feel like my time here at Maryland, I developed into a man and the things that I’ve learned from guys, our managers, our coach, the support staff that we have and everybody that’s come into the program, I’ve learned so much,” Ayala said. “I’m proud to say I’m going to be a future alum for the University of Maryland, and I couldn’t thank enough for everybody that supported me or just gave me anything that helped me in my future.”
Photo Credits: Kenya Allen/PressBox