Maryland men’s basketball gets back on track after Nebraska victory

Maryland Men's Basketball vs. Nebraska at Xfinity Center in College Park, MD on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. University of Maryland Athletics. (Courtesy of Maryland Athletics)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland Terrapins (14-5, 4-4) came out with a last second 69-66 victory against the Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-6, 2-5) Sunday afternoon at the Xfinity Center.

The Terps looked to bounce back after a demoralizing buzzer beating overtime loss at Northwestern this week. Nebraska also looked to get back on track after three straight conference losses. The Cornhuskers’ last loss was against Rutgers at home.

In a game where he achieved his 1,000th career point, Ja’Kobi Gillespie put on a show. Gillespie finished with 22 points, five assists and four steals to lead Maryland to their 14th victory of the season.

“It’s just crazy that I finally hit 1,000 but I didn’t even know during the moment,” said Gillespie.

With just a minute to play, a three-pointer by Sam Hoiberg cut the Terps’ lead to two and an offensive foul on Julian Reese sent the Cornhuskers to the line for a one-and-one situation. The free throw was missed but rebounded by Ahron Ulis of Nebraska whom Rodney Rice rejected immediately.

A foul by Selton Miguel sent Brice Williams to the line for a one-and-one in which he knocked down both free throws, knotting the game at 66 with one minute to play.

Gillespie answered with a layup with 40 seconds left to play and a steal by Reese led to a foul on Nebraska’s Williams. Another foul sent Rice to the free throw line for a one-and-one. His shooter’s touch allowed for the first to drop but the second didn’t fall in.

Geronimo rebounded a Nebraska three and was fouled in the air. He went to the line for a one-and-one but missed the free throw. Nebraska was left with no timeouts after they called their final timeout before the free throw attempt. Time expired as Nebraska threw up a last second full-court heave.

In the first half, Rice and Miguel knocked down threes early to give the Terps an advantage. After such a deflating loss, the Terps’ defensive intensity was evident from the start, forcing six turnovers in just the first eight minutes of play.

The Derik Queen and Tafare Gapare connection continued to blossom as Queen found Gapare down low for a dunk that pushed the Maryland advantage to 16-12. Nebraska’s Andrew Morgan got going, keeping the Cornhuskers in the game as he scored 12 points in just five minutes.

“We just started doubling him. I think he just caught us a little bit by surprise,“ Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said about the Terps defensive performance on Morgan in the first half and the adjustments to slow him down after.

The Terps’ momentum stalled until a Jordan Geronimo layup resulted in one free throw that breathed life back into the arena and cut the Nebraska lead to 28-31. A cross-court pass from Gillespie resulted in another Miguel three to tie the game up. Gillespie put in a three on the ensuing offensive possession to take the lead 34-33.

Gillespie hit a three-pointer as time expired going into halftime to notch his 1,000th career point as the score read 37-35, Terps advantage. He had 13 points at the half to lead all scorers.

Nebraska’s Morgan opened the second half with a layup on the first possession and a free throw on the ensuing possession. A cross-court pass from Gillespie to Rice, led to a catch-and-shoot three from Miguel.

A lob pass at the logo from Jay Young to Gapare finally got the crowd back in the game. Gillespie knocked down another three-point jump shot on the next possession to push the Maryland lead to four, 52-48.

Geronimo stuffed Morgan for his second block in the game, sending the crowd into a frenzy as the Terps still held a four-point lead and the score read 59-55. Gillespie knocked down a three once again to push the lead to nine as Reese blocked his third shot of the game on the very next play.

After Reese added another layup, he blocked his fourth shot of the game as the Maryland defense allowed for zero breathing room for the Cornhuskers offensive attack. The Terps looked for the dagger with about four minutes left to play but the Cornhuskers fought till the last second.

Rice added 15 points and Miguel put in 13 points of his own. Reese added eight more points with 10 rebounds and four rejections to pair with it. Geronimo’s energy was evident, walking away with seven rebounds, three of which were offensive, and 2 blocks. Maryland blocked eight shots and had eight steals.

Coach Willard said he is confident in Geronomo’s ability to bring energy and defensive stops, as his impact was undeniable Sunday afternoon.

“When I get subbed into the game, I know what’s needed of me,” said Geronimo, “I’m just happy I was able to provide energy off the bench and help my team secure the W.”

Maryland will be back on the road against Illinois Thursday night.