EVANSTON, IL – I
n a game that featured 15 lead changes and 16 ties, Maryland men's basketball was defeated by Northwestern, 76-74, at Welsh Ryan Arena on Thursday. Maryland, ranked No. 23 in the NCAA NET, now sits at 13-5 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play.
Northwestern's Brooks Barnhizer scored the go-ahead bucket on a driving layup with 17 seconds remaining. Maryland had an opportunity to tie the game or take the lead with a last-second shot, and
Ja'Kobi Gillespie delivered with a driving layup of his own, tying the game at 74 apiece with six seconds to go. However, Northwestern's Nick Martinelli got off a shot with 0.7 seconds on the clock to beat the buzzer and give the Wildcats the win.
In regulation, neither team pulled ahead by more than two possessions until Ty Berry hit a 3-pointer at 12:11 in the second half, putting Northwestern up 53-43. The shot was part of a 13-0 run that put the Wildcats up by as many as 10 points. The Terps responded by bridging the gap, and Gillespie scored a driving layup with six seconds remaining to tie the game at 68 and send it to overtime. Gillespie recorded two game-tying layups with seconds to go in the contest.
Julian Reese led the Terps with 23 points to go along with seven rebounds. He scored 13 of his points from the free throw line, going 13-for-14 at the charity stripe. Gillespie (14 points, four assists and three steals) and
Rodney Rice (10 points) were the two other Terps to score in double figures.
Tafara Gapare came off the bench and scored nine points. He shot 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point line.
Derik Queen tallied nine points and 14 rebounds, recording his sixth career game with double-digit rebounds.
The first half alone featured 11 lead changes and nine instances where the game was tied. The Wildcats boasted a 38-37 lead, doing the majority of their damage in the paint, scoring 20 points there. The Terps scored the bulk of their points from the three-point line, knocking down four threes, and the charity stripe, going 11-for-11 on free throws.
Northwestern (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) was led by Martinelli (22 points, three rebounds and three assists), Barnhizer (20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists) and Berry (15 points).
Willard's Take
"We had a couple of loose balls towards the end. We had a great deflection on the last play. Jay gets the deflection, and then we can't get that loose ball. We had a couple of those, one in regulation and obviously the one in overtime. Give them credit. They made a nice play, and Martinelli made a nice shot."
Breaking Down The Action
- The Terps trailed 8-7 at the first media timeout. Ja'Kobi Gillespie drilled a step-back 3-pointer, and Selton Miguel and Julian Reese each pitched in two points apiece.
- Maryland took the lead, winning 12-10 at 11:57. Tafara Gapare came off the bench and hit a corner 3-pointer. Reese added a pair of free throws.
- The Terrapins led 22-19 with 7:25 to go in the first. Maryland scored many of its points from the three-point line, knocking down four. Northwestern scored 12 of its 19 points in the paint.
- The Terps went into halftime trailing 38-37. Nick Martinelli scored a layup right at the buzzer. Gapare briefly gave Maryland the lead on the possession before by converting an and-one. Overall, the first half featured 11 lead changes and nine ties.
- Maryland once again pulled ahead, 46-43, at the first media timeout in the second half. Reese led all scorers with 16 points.
- The Wildcats went on a 13-0 run, forcing the Terps to call timeout. They trailed 56-46 with 10:49 to go.
- Maryland responded with a 10-2 run to get back within two at 58-56 on a Jay Young free throw with 6:23 left in the game.
- Gillespie scored a driving layup with six seconds to go in the game to tie it at 68 apiece. The game went to overtime.
- Northwestern's Brooks Barnhizer scored the go-ahead bucket on a driving layup with 17 seconds remaining. Gillespie then tied the game with a driving layup of his own at 74 apiece with six seconds to go. However, Northwestern's Nick Martinelli got off a shot with 0.7 seconds on the clock to beat the buzzer and give the Wildcats the win
Double-Figure Factors
- Julian Reese recorded 23 points for his 68th career game in double digits. He has scored double figures for the 12th time this season.
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored a career-high 14 points and earned his 54th career game in double figures. It was his 14th game scoring double digits.
- Rodney Rice netted 10 points and scored in double digits for his 15th career game. It was his 12th game in double figures as a Terp this season.
Juju Beast
- Julian Reese scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- Reese is 10th on Maryland's all-time rebounds list. He now has 845 boards and is chasing the No. 8 spot shared by Donta Scott (2019-24) and Tom McMillen (1971-74), who each grabbed 859 rebounds.
- The big man blocked two shots, ranking eighth on Maryland's all-time blocked shots list with 148 in his career. Joe Smith ranks seventh with 190 blocks from 1993-95. Reese is one of nine players in program history to record over 1,100 career points and 800 career rebounds.
Numbers And Nuggets
- 5: Julian Reese scored 20+ points for the fifth time this season.
- 6: Derik Queen had his sixth game with 10 or more rebounds.
- 23: The Terps are ranked No. 23 in the NET Rankings.
- 1,388: Selton Miguel leads the Terps with 1,388 career points in his five-year career.
Up Next
- Maryland returns to XFINITY Center on Sunday, Jan. 19 to play Nebraska. The game will tip off at noon and be streamed on Big Ten Network and Maryland Sports Radio Network.
