Maryland squanders late lead, holds off Nebraska

Field Level Media|published: Sun 19th January, 14:42 2025

Jan 19, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Andrew Morgan (23) drives to the basket against Maryland Terrapins center Derik Queen (25) during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 22 points as Maryland survived a furious rally by Nebraska to post a 69-66 victory on Sunday in College Park, Md.

Gillespie made a layup with 40 seconds left to give the Terrapins (14-5, 4-4 Big Ten) the lead for good after they frittered away a nine-point lead in the final five minutes.

Rodney Rice scored seven of his 15 points in a key 1:21 stretch of the second half to help the Terrapins improve to 4-0 in conference games at home.

Julian Reese put up eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks to help rescue Maryland, which played sluggishly for much of the way before a sparse crowd that was missing many students still on break.

Selton Miguel added 13 points as Maryland won its seventh game in the past eight against Nebraska and improved to 13-4 in the series.

Reserve Andrew Morgan gave Nebraska (12-6, 2-5) a boost inside as he scored 17 points, leading the Cornhuskers to a 34-8 edge in points off the bench.

Brice Williams scored 14 points as the Cornhuskers lost their fourth straight following a six-game winning streak.

Another Nebraska reserve, Ahron Ulis, had 10 assists to fuel an offense that made 46.6 percent of its shots from the floor and 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from 3-point range.

The road woes for the Cornhuskers continued as they are winless in four conference games away from Lincoln.

The game was close throughout as neither team led by more than seven points through the first 33 minutes.

When Rice scored his seven quick points and Gillespie followed with one of his five 3-pointers of the game, it gave Maryland a 64-55 lead with 6:47 left.

Nebraska answered with a 9-0 run as Sam Hoiberg made a 3-pointer and Williams added a jumper, two free throws and a key blocked shot as the Cornhuskers forged a 66-66 tie with 1:03 left.

Morgan, a transfer from North Dakota State, made a major impact when he entered in the first half. He made his first five shots as the Cornhuskers whittled away at a seven-point deficit.

Nebraska got its first lead when another reserve, Connor Essegian, drained an NBA-length 3-pointer with 6:18 left in the first half.

But Gillespie countered with a pair of triples in the final 1:21 of the period to give Maryland a 37-35 lead at the break.

- Field Level Media

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