No. 16 Maryland holds off pesky Penn State
Mar 1, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions forward Kachi Nzeh (15) defends as Maryland Terrapins center Derik Queen (25) shoots the ball during the first half at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images Derik Queen scored 23 points to highlight No. 16 Maryland's 68-64 win over Penn State on Saturday in University Park, Pa.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie added 19 points and Selton Miguel notched 17 for the Terrapins (22-7, 12-6 Big Ten), who rebounded nicely from Wednesday's crushing loss in which a Michigan State player buried a shot from beyond half-court at the buzzer. With this win, Maryland has won nine of its last 11 games.
Julian Reese shot just 2-of-10 for four points for Maryland, but he contributed 15 rebounds, six steals and three blocks.
The Nittany Lions (15-15, 5-14) have lost two straight following a brief two-game winning streak. Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 18 points, while D'Marco Dunn chipped in 14 for Penn State.
Maryland led 50-49 with about 9 1/2 minutes left when Gillespie's 3-pointer created a four-point game. Penn State stayed close, inching within 57-55 with six minutes to go before Gillespie went 4-for-4 from the foul line to create a bit of separation.
With roughly 4 1/2 minutes to play, Baldwin knocked down a 3-pointer to get the hosts within 61-58. Queen dunked on the other end -- off a feed from Gillespie -- to push the lead back to five, then Queen added another bucket on the next trip.
With 1:39 left, Queen split a pair of free throws to put Maryland ahead 66-64. After Zach Hicks missed a jumper on the other end, Queen dropped in a layup to create a four-point game.
Rodney Rice's jumper with about 17 seconds left essentially sealed the deal for the Terps.
Gillespie nailed two 3-pointers in the game's first 70 seconds, and Maryland led until Penn State caught up at 18-18. The Nittany Lions moved in front by as many as eight points later in the half, but Queen's layup in the final minute brought the Terps within 36-30 at the break.
Queen led all scorers with 10 points in the first half.
--Field Level Media
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