3/1/2023

COLUMBUS, OHIO – No. 21 Maryland (20-10, 11-8) went down early and was not able to make a comeback, falling 73-62 to Ohio State (13-17, 5-14) in Columbus on Wednesday night.

With the loss, the Terps drop into a tie for fourth in the Big Ten standings alongside Indiana and Iowa. Northwestern and Michigan are tied for second with the Wildcats hosting Penn State in the late game on Wednesday night.

Julian Reese posted his fourth consecutive double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Ian Martinez provided a second-half spark off the bench, totaling eight points and two triples—all in the second half.

Ohio State took a 35-29 lead into the intermission after leading by as many as 10 during the first half. Reese led the Terps with eight points, while Young and Scott each had seven. A 12-0 run for the Buckeyes gave Ohio State an early 14-4 lead at the under-16 media timeout. Maryland was able to cut the deficit to a few as four before heading into the break down six. 

After Ohio State stretched its lead to 13 to start the second half, the Terps got back within eight points, but were unable to get any closer than seven.

Ohio State had a balanced offensive attack as all five starters scored in double-figures.

Willard’s Take

“We’ve really struggled with the Sunday-Wednesday turnarounds. We just haven’t brought the same energy that we bring on Sundays to Wednesdays. We came out and got a good bucket, but just did some things early that make you scratch your head. This was disappointing. I thought we had a pretty good practice yesterday, but we just looked kinda lethargic today which just hasn’t been something this team does.” 

Breaking Down The Action

• Ohio State took a 14-4 lead with 15:39 remaining in the first half thanks to a 12-0 run where the Buckeyes hit 5-of-6 from the floor.
• The Terps cut the lead to five three different times before a 5-0 run for the Buckeyes pushed the lead back to double digits, 25-15, with 7:05 left in the first half.
• Maryland cut the deficit to four, 25-21, after a Reese free throw, a driving lay-up by Young, and straight-away triple from Scott forcing an Ohio State timeout at the 4:46 mark.
• After the break, Ohio State used a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 46-33 forcing a Maryland timeout with 15:56 to go.
• Ian Martinez scored eight straight points highlighted by a pair of three pointers to cut the deficit to single digits, 50-41, at the 13:02 mark. 
• The teams traded buckets from there with Maryland not able to cut the deficit to less than eight twice before Ohio State used a 7-0 run to go up 67-52 with 3:31 to go.
• Five straight points from Carey got the Terps within seven with under two minutes left. 

Double-Figure Update

• Julian Reese (17) notched double figures for the 18th time this season and 25th of his career. He has scored 10-plus in 13 of his last 15 games.
• Don Carey (14) hit double figures for the 12th time this season and the 77th time in his career. He’s hit double figures in each of the last three games.

JuJu Beast

• Julian Reese notched his fourth straight double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. It marked the seventh double-double of the season and his career overall.
• Current Indiana Pacer Jalen Smith was the last Terp to post four-straight double doubles as part of nine consecutive from Jan. 18, 2020 through Feb. 18, 2020.

Donta In The Record Books

• Scott moved into No. 31 on the all-time scoring lists with 1,275 as he passed Bob Kessler who had 1,266 points from 1953-56. Next on the list at No. 30 is Joe Smith (1,290 points from 1993-95). 
• Scott is now tied with Obinna Ekezie (1995-99) for No.19 all-time in rebounds with 671.

Up Next

• The Terps will head to Penn State on Sunday, March 5 for the regular-season finale. Tip off is slated for 12 PM. The game will be televised on BTN and fans can listen on the Maryland Sports Radio Network.

COURTESY MARYLAND ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS