Maryland men’s basketball returned home and bagged their first win of the new year, a 79-61 decision against UCLA on Jan. 10.
The victory pushed the Terps to 12-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten.
“It feels good to get out there and play in front of our fans again,” junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie said. “We’ve been on the road for two straight games, so it was good to go out and make a statement.”
Led by Gillespie (career-high 27 points) and senior big man Julian Reese (16 points, 10 rebounds), the Terps moved to 10-1 at home and cleansed themselves of a tough West Coast trip to begin 2025.
“I think Ja’Kobi was a little upset with the way he played out West,” head coach Kevin Willard said of his team’s losses at Washington and Oregon. “I don’t think he played overly well out West. We had a good conversation about understanding at this level what it takes to play at a high level. … Just getting him to understand not only the level of effort you have to play with but the attitude that you have to come into every game [with].”
Maryland’s first home game since Dec. 28 was a back-and-forth affair until the Terps pulled away late. As Xfinity Center continued to fill up early in the game, Maryland used the fans’ energy to help propel it to a 20-13 lead fueled by an 11-0 run.
The first half saw four lead changes, but the Terps built a 38-28 lead with about two minutes remaining in the stanza led by Gillespie, who had 16 points at the break.
UCLA went on to score five quick points to trim the lead, but Maryland went into the locker with a 40-36 lead even after a buzzer-beater by UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau (14 first-half points).
Several days earlier, Oregon had made a late first-half run that foreshadowed a difficult second half. But this time around, the Terps kept their composure, built on their lead and got back in the win column.
“We’ve had three-minute stretches of defense that have killed us in all three road games,” Willard said. “We just kind of talked about it. We don’t need to drill it. … Sometimes you just go to re-emphasize with guys.”
Maryland’s defense thwarted any chance for UCLA to build a rhythm to open the second half. The Terps held the Bruins to 11 points in the first eight minutes of the second half, then held them scoreless across the next four minutes.
“Just coming in the second half, the first four minutes is when we’ve been letting people come back and take the lead,” Gillespie said.
However, there were no big runs to take a commanding lead for the Terps either — well, not until UCLA head coach Mick Cronin was ejected from the game with five minutes remaining.
Maryland was rewarded four free throws since Cronin was assessed a double technical. Gillespie knocked all four to build the largest lead of the game at the time (64-51) and provide all the momentum the Terps needed to put the Bruins away.
“Definitely,” Reese said on if Cronin being tossed was a turning point. “When an away coach gets thrown out of the game and the crowd gets into it, it’s like a domino effect.”
The Terps closed the game on a 21-4 run to make the trip on icy roads for fans worth it. Maryland will have a quick turnaround when it returns to play against Minnesota on Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics