Hakim Hart got the ball in his hands with over two minutes left, and needed to make a play to seal the win. He drove to the free throw line, dropped Seth Lundy with a crossover, and found Ian Martinez cutting baseline for the emphatic dunk.
Hart had a season high 23 points as well as five rebounds and four assists to lead Maryland men’s basketball down the stretch to a 74-68 win over Penn State, remaining undefeated at home in conference play this season.
“I just wanted to give the ball to Hak just to give Jahmir [Young] a break,” coach Kevin Willard said. “I thought he did a great job with just probing, being aggressive, finding guys, and then obviously when the game was close getting to the basket.”
On Hart’s performance, graduate student guard Jahmir Young said “we was all feeding off of him.”
The game was extremely close throughout the second half, with Penn State actually taking the lead at points and staying within a few possessions when down. But a 9-0 run that spanned almost four of the final seven minutes put Maryland in control and made a sold out XFINITY Center crowd come alive.
The Terps’ offense faltered at times, but ultimately was able to find points of comfort throughout the game. They shot 53.2% from the field and 37.5% from three while also out-rebounding and out-assisting the Nittany Lions. It was scoring off turnovers which made the difference yet again, with Maryland scoring 17 points off of turnovers as it averages 14.2 points per game in this fashion.
Young had 18 points and four assists, going over the 400-point scoring mark this season. Sophomore forward Julian Reese was a big factor with 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks, while senior forward Donta Scott nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Penn State’s offense gave Maryland loads of trouble at times, especially from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions shot 46.2% from three, going 12 for 26 from outside the arc. However, Maryland’s defense limited them to 40% three-point shooting in the second half, which was crucial in securing the win.
The Nittany Lions had five scorers in double figures, with freshman guard Kanye Clary having the best game of his young career with 17 points off the bench. Graduate senior Jalen Pickett had a good game, putting up 15 points and adding five assists. Graduate senior guard Andrew Funk was giving Maryland trouble from the perimeter, scoring 14 points on 4-7 shooting from three.
Early on the Terps limited the passing lanes for Pickett and forced turnovers. Maryland forced the team that averages the fewest turnovers per game in the nation (8.7) into eight in the first 12 minutes. Reese had two blocks in the first half, making his presence known inside.
This allowed Maryland to get out in transition and find buckets, including an alley oop from Young to Martinez to help the Terps lead by as much as 12 with 8:27 remaining in the half.
But the one thing the Nittany Lions have been able to do this season was shoot the three very well, and that brought them back in the first half. Penn State shot the ball 6-11 from three in the half, which helped open up its offense.
With Maryland having to respect shooters more, fewer defenders were able to bring a double team on Pickett and help when Clary started to attack the paint. With Reese getting into foul trouble with 4:33 left in the half, Penn State began to score inside and out. Clary and Pickett had a combined 10 points by the end of the half.
“We picked zero to go double and not rotate to zero… I think you just got to stick with something and say this is what we’re gonna do,” Willard said. “Because when Pickett gets rolling he’s a tough cover.”
After Penn State tied the score at 26 near the end of the first half, Young put the team on his back. He hit a three and a pull up mid range shot to give Maryland the 31-28 lead at halftime.
The second half started out with Penn State gaining its first lead of the game. Pickett scored Penn State’s first seven points, including a pull up three pointer which gave his team a 35-32 lead.
But after that, Maryland’s defense got the lead back with a 9-0 run that was helped by starting to double Pickett again. But the back-and-forth nature of the game swung the game back in the other direction, with a few buckets inside from Funk and Clarey getting Penn State within one at 43-42 with 12 minutes to go.
But the scoring run in the final minutes gave the Terps the much needed victory.
Maryland will be back in action at home on Thursday to take on the No. 1 team in the country in Purdue at 6:30 p.m.
