Maryland Men’s Basketball Takes Down The Mount at home
The Maryland Terrapins (4-1) defeated the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (1-4) 95-90 on Nov. 19 at the Xfinity Center.
Following a big win at Marquette on Saturday, the Terps kept the ball rolling with a win at home against Mount St. Mary’s. The Mountaineers tried to bounce back following a 17-point loss at Cincinnati.
Maryland Head Coach Buzz Williams said following the big win, “I thought the group, with very little experience together, and many of them only five games of experience in their life at this level, their rate of growth has been tremendous.”
Fans in College Park had ‘Oladotun’ taped on the back of jerseys by the end of the game. In what seemed like bigger news than the game, Baba Oladotun, a top-10-ranked recruit, signed with Maryland. This is the Terps’ highest-ranked signee since Center Jalen Smith in 2018.
The nail-biter in the Xfinity Center also saw history as David Coit put in 41 points, the most points in the building’s history.
It was 77-74 with 12.4 seconds left to play as Mount St. Mary’s held the lead. This was the Terps’ last chance. Coit had the answer from three. Over time in College Park.
Coit said the win was all that mattered after the game, “Big performances, and moments like this, really don’t matter if we don’t win.” He continued, “I just wanted to win so bad… people say things, people expect things, so for us getting this win and going into Vegas 4-1, I feel grateful, I feel blessed, and I feel like we’re a little bit more motivated and we’re going to take things a lot more seriously, even though we do already.”
Mountaineers guard Arlandus Keyes opened up the period with his sixth three of the game. Then Andre Mills tied the game at 81. Mills finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Williams said, “I do think that the endurance of our guys has continued to increase.” He continued, “We’ve tried to be very diligent and faithful in not skipping steps, year one, week three, trying to make sure that we’re ultra aware of the things that last, and the things that matter the most in the process.”
Elijah Saunders put in a three after Mills fought for the ball and was awarded the possession arrow. Keyes, of course, answered right back with a three. Saunders finished the contest with 14 points and five rebounds.
Coit answered back with a step-back three. His 41st point of the game. Third most points for a Terp ever, tying Greivis Vásquez, Len Bias and Gene Shue. Coit had 34 entering overtime. He finished the game with 41 points, shooting 8/10 from three-point range.
“I have to credit this coaching staff and my teammates because they believed in me. Any player knows, any person knows, when the people around you believe in you, it just gives you the utmost confidence,” Coit said.
It was all she wrote when Darius Adams knocked down his fourth free throw in two possessions, sealing the 93-87 victory for the Terps. Adams finished the game with 19 points and seven rebounds.
But here’s how the men got to overtime.
On the last three possessions before halftime, a three-pointer from Saunders, a pull-up jumper from Coit and three free throws from Adams gave Maryland some breathing room before the end of the first half. The Terps led 40-32 at the half.
Coit opened up the second half with a three as the Terps turned up the pressure on the defensive end. A few possessions later, he put in two free throws and then another three-pointer. Coit had 18 points with just over 17 minutes to play.
Maryland got out to an early 18-12 advantage as both teams traded baskets back and forth. With just under 10 minutes to play in the first half, The Mount tied the game at 18 following a three-pointer by Anastasios Rozakeas.
The Terps finally captured their largest lead of the contest thus far, leading 30-25 with four and a half minutes to play in the first half. The Mountaineers’ Keyes immediately answered with his second three of the game.
The game was even closer in the second half.
The Mount closed the gap to 53-50 with just under 12 minutes to play in regulation. Within a few plays, Keyes tied the contest at 56. Keyes put in his third straight three as the Mountaineers led 62-58 with over eight and a half minutes to play.
Eight straight points from Coit immediately erased the lead for the Mountaineers. With three and a half minutes to go, Mount St. Mary’s led 71-66.
As Maryland got the ball back with just over two minutes to play, it seemed like this was the last gasp for the Terps. Coit got to the free-throw line for two as they trailed by three.
Isaiah Watts put in a three, but was immediately answered by Xavier Lipscomb as The Mount went back up 74-71. From there, it was up to Coit.
Maryland will be in Vegas for the next matchup against the University of Nevada during the Player Era Festival Tournament.