Darryl Morsell's long 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left capped a furious comeback and allowed No. 9 Maryland to escape Minnesota with a 74-73 win Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
The Terrapins (23-5, 13-4 Big Ten) kept their two-game lead in the Big Ten standings, overcoming a 17-point deficit and ending the contest on a 10-1 run.
Jalen Smith, who played just four minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Aaron Wiggins also scored 16 points. Morsell had 13 points and nine boards.
Minnesota (13-14, 7-10) likely saw its NCAA Tournament hopes shattered despite trailing just twice in the game.
Daniel Oturu put on a show with 28 points and 11 rebounds, hitting 10 of 13 shots, but his jumper at the buzzer was far short. Oturu got help from Marcus Carr, who finished with 19 points and seven assists, but the Golden Gophers took their sixth loss in the past eight games.
The Terrapins have won 10 of their past 11 games to take control in the Big Ten heading into a Saturday home date with No. 24 Michigan State.
Smith's tip-dunk with 14 seconds left to cut Minnesota's lead to 73-71. Gabe Kalscheur missed the front end of a one-and-one for the Gophers to set the stage for Morsell's big shot.
The Terrapins trailed by as many as 17 points late in the first half but had a chance to tie the game with 42 seconds left when Smith missed a 3-pointer.
Klascheur then hit one of two free throws to make it 73-69 with 39 seconds remaining, and Kalscheur subsequently made a great play to stop Anthony Cowan Jr.'s drive and get the ball back with 29 seconds left, but the Gophers couldn't close the game out.
Carr missed the front end of a one-and-one with 24 seconds to go.
Maryland had trailed 64-50 with 8:59 left when Carr hit a pull-up. The Terrapins then went on a 19-8 run to give themselves a chance in the late going, and they wound up claiming their fourth Big Ten victory this season after trailing by double digits.
The Gophers led 47-31 at the half, digging a hole for the Terrapins by hitting their first five shots of the game, including four 3-pointers. Minnesota led 15-4 at 15:51 when Oturu scored inside. The 6-foot-10 sophomore had 15 first-half points, as did Carr. The Gophers were 7 of 13 from 3-point range in building the big halftime edge.
Minnesota finished 10 of 24 behind the arc for the game. Maryland was just 6 of 28 from deep but owned a 45-36 rebounding edge despite Smith's foul trouble.
--Field Level Media
Maryland | Minnesota | |
Jalen Smith 16 | Scoring | Daniel Oturu 28 |
Anthony Cowan Jr. 9 | Assists | Marcus Carr 7 |
Jalen Smith 12 | Rebounds | Daniel Oturu 11 |
Anthony Cowan Jr. 6 | Free Throws Made | Daniel Oturu 6 |
Anthony Cowan Jr. 3 | Steals | Payton Willis 2 |
Jalen Smith 2 | Blocks | Isaiah Ihnen 1 |