Box Score EAST LANSING -- Maryland men's basketball played stout defense in a 63-54 loss at Michigan State on Saturday at Breslin Center. The Terps held the opposition to fewer than 70 points for the 12th time in 13 games. 

Jahmir Young led all scorers with 31 points. He has been unstoppable on the road recently as he's averaging 29 points in his last six road games. It was Young's fifth career game of over 30 points with three this season, all coming on the road. 
 

Jahmir is the guy pic.twitter.com/1eQTvvTx6w

— Maryland Men's Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) February 4, 2024

Donta Scott, who tied Steve Blake's school record for games started with 136, scored 13 points in the game and knocked down three three-pointers. Scott also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double this season and seventh of his career.

Have a half, Donta! @TerrapinHoops

📺: FOX/@CBBonFOX pic.twitter.com/F89wFU4r0n

— Maryland On BTN (@MarylandOnBTN) February 3, 2024

The Terps (13-9, 5-6 B1G) missed the presence of their star big man Julian Reese who was sidelined for a large portion of the game while battling foul trouble. Maryland entered the locker room trailing by only two possessions (31-27). Maryland took its only lead of the game at the 7:15 mark of the second half on a Young lay-up. The Terrapins had previously trailed for the first 32:45 of the game.

However, the Terps were unable to hold onto their lead as Michigan State scored 16 of the game's next 18 points in the game to put them ahead 57-44 with three minutes left, putting the game out of hand. 

Only five players scored for the Terrapins and only three players scored in the game's first 34 minutes. Jordan Geronimo had six while Jahari Long and Julian Reese each had two free throws. 

Michigan State (14-8, 6-5 B1G) is ranked No. 22 in the latest NCAA NET rankings and has won five of its last six games. Malik Hall (19 points) and Tyson Walker (17 points) led the Spartans.

Breaking Down the Action
 

• Maryland trailed 9-5 at the first media timeout. Donta Scott scored all five of the Terrapins points and got them on the board with a three-pointer. It marked Scott's 13th game in a row where he knocked down at least one three.
• Michigan State sparked a 7-0 run after Maryland turned the ball over on three straight possessions. Maryland missed its last seven shots from the floor but got out of its slump with another three-pointer by Scott. He had all eight points for the Terps at the 11:26 mark.  
• The Terps' defense forced four turnovers in four minutes to spark a run of their own. It started with a deep three by Jahmir Young as the shot clock expired. A dunk by Jordan Geronimo brought Maryland within one point.
• Maryland entered halftime trailing 31-27. Young and Scott had already tallied double-figures and the Terps blocked five shots as a team defensively. Julian Reese was sidelined for the final seven minutes as he battled foul trouble. 
• Despite only three players scoring for Maryland, the Terps only trailed by three points with under nine minutes to play. Maryland kept the game within two possessions despite being shorthanded. They later took the lead at the 7:15 mark.
• The lead wouldn't last long though. The Spartans also sparked a 12-0 run to take a 12-point lead at the 3:05 mark to seal the game. 

Coach Willard's Take
"I think more than anything, we haven't practiced a lot with Jordan [Geronimo] at the five spot. We got really stagnant on the offensive end because there were a lot of things we couldn't do with Julian [Reese] not being out there and Jordan being at the five. Those guys battled back and they were able to take the lead. The fatigue began to set in and we gave up two huge offensive rebounds that kind of sealed the deal. You have to give Michigan State a lot of credit. They are a physical defensive team with an unbelievable home-court advantage. We had some opportunities and I thought we got really sped up and we took some quick shots. These guys battled and that's all you can ask going on the road in a tough atmosphere."
Defense!

• Defensively, Maryland has been outstanding allowing 70 or fewer points in 12 of its last 13 games. They have also only given up 70 or more points in three games this season. 
• The Terps have held the top five scoring teams in the conference to an average of 21 points under their yearly average.
• The Terps are the top defensive unit in the Big Ten through the first half of the season allowing just 63.4 points per game which ranks 11th nationally. 
• Entering the game, Maryland ranked sixth-best nationally for defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com. The Terps also rank 17th in effective field goal percentage on defense.
• Coming into Saturday, Maryland led the league in blocked shots (5.4 per game) which is 14th nationally and ranked fifth in steals per game (7.1). The Terps also ranked fourth for turnovers forced per game (13.2).
• Today marked the 15th game this season with 5 or more blocked shots. The only 'major conference' teams to have done so in more games are Auburn (18) and Arkansas (17).

Double-Figure Factors

• Jahmir Young (31 points) dropped double-figures for the 126th time in his career and the 20th time in 21 games he's played this season. It's also the 17th game in a row that he's played and scored double-digits. Young scored 20-plus points for the 12th time this season and the 53rd time in his career - the most among all active Big Ten players.
• Donta Scott (13 points) tallied double-figures for the 77th time over his five-year career. It was also his 12th time this season and fourth time in the last five games.

Scott Climbing The Charts

• Donta Scott tied the all-time Maryland record for starts with 136 over his five-year career. He tied Steve Blake (1999-2003) and will have the opportunity to break the record on Feb. 6. Scott also played in his 151st career game as a Terp to add to his all-time school record for games played.
• Scott became the fifth player in program history to have 1,500 points and 800 rebounds in a career during his last outing. He joined Lonny Baxter (1,858 & 998), Tom McMillen (1,807 & 859), Keith Booth (1,776 & 916) and Terence Morris (1,733 & 925). 
• The fifth-year forward scored 13 points, increasing his career total to 1,565, which is 18th all-time. He passed Greg Manning, who scored 1,561 points from 1977-81. Next up at No.17 with 1,566 is Laron Profit (1995-99)) and No. 16 with 1,573 points is Nik Caner-Medley from 2002-06.
• Scott grabbed 10 rebounds to increase his career total to 813 which is No. 9 all-time. Next on the list is Tom McMillen with 859 rebounds from 1971-74.
• Scott is 7th in career three-pointers made. With three in the game today, he now has 195 for his career. Next on the list is Eric Hayes who made 196 three-pointers from 2006-10.

Fear The Jahmir 

There goes that man aga1n

JY with 21. 12th time this season over 20 pic.twitter.com/GmQVzuUwTY

— Maryland Men's Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) February 4, 2024

• With 31 points in the game, Jahmir Young added to his career scoring total and now has 2,412 points. He is the second-leading active scorer in the nation behind Texas' Max Abmas (2,955). 
• Young is the only active NCAA player with 2,000+ points, 700+ rebounds, and 400+ assists (2,412 points, 714 rebounds, 451 assists).
• Young now has 991 points in his two seasons at Maryland. He is closing in on being the sixth NCAA player since 2006 to post 1,000 points at two different institutions after scoring 1,421 at Charlotte from 2019-22.
• Young also needs nine points to reach 1,000 for his Maryland career. He is looking to become the third-fastest player to reach that milestone and the fifth player in program history to do so in just two seasons.
• Young also needs 62 points to post the 51st 500-point season in program history.
• Young entered Saturday's game as the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten and the No. 20 scorer nationally at 20.4 points per game. 
• Young is looking to become the first Terp since Greivis Vasquez in 2009-10 to average over 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. Entering the matchup, Young averages 20.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Numbers To Know

• 1: Entering the matchup, the Terps were allowing 64 points per game which ranks first in the Big Ten and 18th nationally 
• 12: Maryland has allowed fewer than 70 points in 12 of its last 13 outings.
• 13: Donta Scott has made at least one three-pointer in 13 straight games, his fourth straight season making one in 10-plus games. No other Maryland player has done this in four straight seasons over the past 25 seasons.
• 15: Jordan Geronimo has blocked 15 shots in his last six games with three on Saturday.
• 17: Jahmir Young's 17 consecutive games with double-figure points is the fourth-longest active streak in the Big Ten behind Purdue's Zach Edey (73), Michigan State's Tyson Walker (33), and Illinois' Terrence Shannon (25).
• 29: Jahmir Young is averaging 29 points in his last six road games.
• 53: Young has 53 games scoring 20+ points - the most among active Big Ten players. 
• 63.4: Points per game allowed this season which ranks 11th nationally and first in the Big Ten. The Terps haven't led their conference in that category since doing so in the ACC in 1973-74.
• 136: Games started for Donta Scott, which is tied for most in school history. 
• 2,412: Jahmir Young's career points - 2nd most nationally for an active player. 

Up Next

• Maryland returns to College Park for a timely matchup against Rutgers on Feb. 6. The game will tip-off at 6:30 p.m., and will be streamed on Big Ten Network. Fans can listen on Maryland Sports Radio Network.