COLLEGE PARK, MD – Maryland men's basketball was defeated by No. 15 Marquette, 78-74, on Friday at XFINITY Center. The Terps suffered their first loss of the season and sit at 3-1 overall.
Derik Queen and Ja'Kobi Gillespie paced all Maryland scorers with 24 points each for a combined 48 points. Queen had the best-scoring performance of his young career. The freshman big man shot 9-of-13 from the field. He added seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Gillespie went 10-of-17 shooting from the floor. He has scored in double figures in every game this season since transferring from Belmont. His performance gave Maryland its fourth different 20-point scorer in the first four games of the season, a feat accomplished for the first time since the 1980-81 season.
Neither team led by more than two possessions until Kam Jones (28 points) drained two free throws to lead 68-61 with 4:44 remaining in the game. The buckets were part of a 9-0 run by Marquette, proving to be a critical stretch in its victory. The Golden Eagles closed out the game from the free-throw line despite the Terps rallying to within two points at 76-74 with 36 seconds remaining. Stevie Mitchell (18 points) sealed the game with a pair of free throws with 6.6 left in the game.
Maryland's only other meeting with Marquette was on Dec. 1, 2019, in the championship game of the Orlando Invitational. The Terps won 84-63, led by Anthony Cowan's 22 points.
Marquette improved to 4-0 on the season.
Willard's Take
"That's a good basketball team, extremely well coached," head coach Kevin Willard said. "That's why I wanted to test these guys early with this Villanova game [and] going into going into Big Ten play with Ohio State and Purdue. I was really proud of these guys' effort. Really loved the way they kept battling, just getting a new team to understand the value of every possession."
Gillespie On The XFINITY Center Crowd
"It was definitely electric. Fans really showed up and showed out. I just feel like it was a really good environment to play in. … You see it on TV, but playing in it is actually crazy. But I just wish it was a better result."
Breaking Down The Action
- Maryland's defense buzzed around early, causing multiple deflections and long possessions. However, Marquette sparked an 8-0 run to lead 10-6 at the first media timeout.
- Selton Miguel put an end to the run by converting and and-1. He led the Terps with five points as they trailed the Golden Eagles 15-13 at 11:45. Kam Jones was the game's leading scorer with 10 points.
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie drained a 3-pointer to give the Terps briefly a lead at 16-15. Then, a driving layup by Derik Queen gave the Terps a 20-19 lead entering the third media timeout of the first half.
- Another 3-pointer by Gillespie at 3:32 forced Marquette to burn a timeout. Maryland was in the middle of a 7-0 run while forcing Marquette to shoot one of its last eight from the floor. The Terps led 27-23.
- The Terrapins led 34-30 entering the locker room, making six of their last seven. Gillespie and Queen led them with 14 and 11 points, respectively. As a team, they were shooting 58% from the floor.
- At the first second-half media timeout, neither team had led by more than two possessions. However, a 3-pointer by Jones gave the Golden Eagles a 47-44 lead with 12:37 remaining.
- Gillespie and Marquette's Ben Gold traded 3-pointers, but Gillespie raced down the court and scored a layup to give him 21 points on the night. Maryland trailed by two with 9:45 in the game.
- A Rodney Rice 3-pointer gave the Terps back their lead at 59-56. They were on a 7-0 run, and the crowd erupted.
- Jones drained two free throws as part of a Marquette 9-0 run. It led 68-61 with 4:44 remaining. The run proved to be critical, as it remained in front and walked out with the win.
Double-Figure Factors
- Freshman Derik Queen scored 24 points for double-digit points for the third time in his career. He also accomplished the feat in back-to-back games.
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie also scored 24 points and earned his 44th career game in double figures. It was his fourth game in a row scoring double digits since transferring from Belmont.
Seeing 20-20-20-20
- For the first time since the 1980-81 season, Maryland had four different 20-point scorers in the first four games of a season.
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie was the Terps' fourth different 20-point scorer, tallying 24 points. Derik Queen also added 24 points on the night for good measure.
- Queen scored 22 in the season opener against Manhattan. Rodney Rice tallied a career-high 28 against Mount St. Mary's in the second game, and Julian Reese scored 21 points in Monday's win over Florida A&M.
- Back in 1980-81, the four 20-point scorers who each led the Terps in scoring in the first four games were Buck Williams with 27 vs. Navy, Ernie Graham with 21 vs. American, Greg Manning Sr., with 29 vs. Wagner and Albert King (along with Manning) with 21 points vs. Syracuse.
- The last time the Terps had two players score 20 or more points in a game was on Jan. 14, 2024, when Jahmir Young scored 28, and Reese netted 20 points at No. 10 Illinois.
John Brown Recognized
- John Brown, the co-founder and owner of RJ Bentleys, was the unofficial mayor of College Park and an iconic figure who touched many hearts.
- Brown passed away last weekend. During the pregame, Scott Van Pelt and Gary Williams honored him for his graciousness, generosity and friendship ahead of tonight's contest.
College Park Reunion
- Hall of Fame Head Coach Gary Williams was sitting courtside with Maryland alum and ESPN SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt.
- Many former players were in attendance for tonight's game, including Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter, Greg Manning Sr., Johnny Rhodes, Keith Booth, Jeff Baxter, Rodney Elliott, Byron Mouton, Cedric Lewis, Reese Mona, Ernie Graham, Darryl Morsell, Sean Mosley, Travis Garrison and James Gist.
- Morsell played for both Maryland and Marquette. The Baltimore native played for the Terps from 2017-21 before playing his final season (2021-22) with the Golden Eagles.
Numbers And Nuggets
- 4: Ja'Kobi Gillespie has scored double figures in each of their first four games as Terps.
- 4: The Terps have had four different players score 20 points in each of the first four games this season.
- 13: There were 13 lead changes in the game.
- 25: Julian Reese grabbed 10 or more rebounds for the 25th time in his career.
- 52.7: Maryland shot a season-best 52.7% from the floor.
- 56: Rodney Rice's 56 points off the bench this season are among the most by a guard in the Big Ten.
Up Next
- Maryland will host Canisius at XFINITY Center on Tuesday, Nov. 19. The game will tip at 7 p.m. and broadcast on Big Ten Plus and Maryland Sports Radio Network.
