The Iowa men’s basketball team fell to Maryland for the second time this season, dropping a 78-66 decision Wednesday night in College Park. Up eight points midway through the second half, the Hawkeyes were shut down by the Big Ten’s top defense, as the Terrapins closed the game out on a 21-6 run.
After scoring 22 points, including the Terrapins’ final eight of regulation in the previous matchup, guard Jahmir Young dropped 21 points, shooting 4-of-12 from the floor but knocking down all 13 of his attempts from the charity stripe. Forward Julian Reese added 16 points and 13 rebounds while first-year DeShawn Harris Smith scored a career-high 17 points as head coach Kevin Willard’s squad improved to 14-11 on the season.
For Iowa, which dropped its eighth Big Ten matchup, forward Payton Sandfort led the team with 19 points, followed by guard Tony Perkins with 11. The duo were the only Hawkeyes to break double figures.
The opening two minutes of the ballgame saw seven consecutive missed shots and two straight blocks until Maryland forward Donta Scott broke the ice with a driving layup with 17:51 remaining. One possession later, the Hawkeyes forced a turnover and took advantage, as Sandfort drilled. his first triple for the evening. That basket knotted a 13-4 Iowa run over eight minutes, complete with two more Sandfort threes and five turnovers from Maryland.
Iowa’s advantage would slip to four with eight minutes remaining in the period, as Maryland scored eight points in the paint, highlighted by a putback slam from New Mexico State transfer Mady Traore. That threat wouldn’t last for long, as the Hawkeyes responded in kind with an 8-0 run capped off by Sandfort’s assist to his younger brother Pryce.
The elder Sandfort came up hobbling a few minutes later after Maryland’s Jordan Geronimo collided with his right knee on a three-point attempt. Geronimo would head to the bench while the Hawkeye junior forward would stay in the contest and connect on two of his attempts from the charity stripe as Iowa took a 28-17 lead.
The Maryland combination of Young and Reese combined for 11 of the Terrapins’ final 13 points of the half as the home team found itself down four with 6.8 seconds remaining in the period. Yet Iowa would have the final say, as Patrick McCaffery converted a euro-step layup at the buzzer to cement a 37-31 lead at the break.
The Hawkeyes shot 44 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes while scoring 14 points off turnovers, holding the Terrapins to 2-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Iowa’s lead would remain at six to open the first five minutes second half, as guard Josh Dix got on the board with a triple and a made free throw. That edge would grow to eight with ten minutes to go as reserve guard Brock Harding got in on the action as well. Harding, who has played sparingly in Iowa’s past few matchups, notched two a steal and four points in just over two minutes since his substitution.
The back-and-forth affair continued, as the Terrapins gained the lead for the first time since the score read, 2-0. Reese continued to be a force down low, amassing three baskets in the paint while Young contributed three free throws. After a Reese stepback splash over Owen Freeman, Maryland found itself up. 69-64, with two minutes to go.
Yet in the clutch, the Hawkeyes disappeared, connecting on just 1-of-7 field goal attempts for two points while Young knocked down four more free throws to put the game away.
Up next
Iowa returns to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, Feb. 17, to take on No. 20 Wisconsin. After starting 8-1 in conference play and earning the No. 6 ranking in the Associated Press poll, the Badgers lost four straight matchups before ending up in the win column against Ohio State on Tuesday, one day before the Buckeyes fired head coach Chirs Holtmann.
Wisconsin, which boasts a 17-8 mark and third place in the Big Ten, is led in scoring by guard A.J. Storr with 16.3 points per game.
