Maryland-Syracuse final: Orange escape with road win in College Park

The Maryland Terrapins made a late charge to get a much-needed home win over the Syracuse Orange, but fell short in their endeavor, losing 57-55.

The game started off well for the cold-shooting Trevor Cooney as he got the shooters roll on a three-point attempt, giving Syracuse the early 3-0 lead. Seth Allen fired right back with a three of his own followed by a Charles Mitchell breakaway dunk to take the lead, 5-3. Syracuse would get Jerami Grant going early as well, helping lead them to a 6-0 run to take a 9-5 lead.

The game would turn a bit ugly for Maryland, as Syracuse would rip off a 15-3 run to take a ten point lead early for the Orange. Cj Fair hit a couple of contested shots to help lead the charge after the under-16 media timeout.

Maryland would put a dent into the deficit, led by three-point baskets by Evan Smotrycz and Seth Allen, but Syracuse would get back to their flow, scoring two unanswered buckets to extend the lead to seven, 24-17.

Maryland would have eight turnovers by the under-8 media timeout, nearly averaging a turnover a minute, helping contribute to the early deficit. Maryland would get into the bonus with around six minutes left, helping keep the game within reach. A host of air-balls and missed lay-ins kept Maryland behind, however, but the game didn't get out of hand in the first half.

Maryland would turn it over again, and Syracuse would have a chance to take the final shot of the first half after a Damonte Dodd foul on Baye Moussa-Keita. As he has done nearly all season, Tyler Ennis hit a big three to extend the Syracuse lead to 32-24 going into the half.

Maryland had a chance to take the lead, but Nick Faust missed to lay-up, leading to free throws for Syracuse in an effort to extend the game. Trevor Cooney hit one of the two free throws, giving Maryland one last shot with 3.5 seconds left.

Seth Allen would get the final shot, but it would hit off the rim, signaling the end of the game. Allen finished with 22 points in the effort, but it wasn't enough, as the Terps fell just short.

Maryland would open up the second half with none other than a turnover, leading to an easy two for Syracuse. Dez Wells found his way to the lane on the next two possessions, resulting in two buckets for Maryland to cut the deficit to four.The turnover bug would continue to bite Maryland, with two turnovers within the first four minutes of the second half.

Those turnovers early were just the beginning, as the Terps would continue to turn the ball over, with two missed passes underneath the rim by Shaq Cleare and Charles Mitchell, added to an offensive foul by Smotrycz. With the score 40-30, Maryland was doing very little to put pressure on the Orange, even with the game within reach.

Seth Allen was fouled on a three point shot, giving the Terps a chance to pull within nine, but Allen would hit just two of three. On the ensuing Syracuse possession, Fair hit a mid-range jumper the extend the lead to 12 once again.Wells would make a lay-up to help the cause on the following possession, with coach Mark Turgeon calling a timeout to regroup the team.

Seth Allen his a long three with just over eight minutes left to pull within seven, electrifying the crowd and giving hope of a comeback, but Michael Gbinije would answer with a three of his own, silencing the Maryland faithful. Ennis would hit a shot down-low to, once again, put the lead at 12.

It seemed that whenever Maryland would make a shot, Syracuse had an answer, and then some. The Terps could never quite get back within striking distance,hurting the Terps down the stretch.

Evan Smotrycz fouled out of the game with 6:05 remaining, but he struggled throughout the game, scoring just three points in his time played. Tyler Ennis was in complete control, and he showed it with a flurry of mid-range shots and good decisions, on his way to another 20 point game.

Maryland began to make a bit-time run in the game late, pulling to within four points of the Orange, but Cj Fair, being the senior he is, hit a big three to create some breathing room. Allen went down and made a three for the Terps to pull back within four, but Trevor Cooney, who had been 2-9 from the field, made a tough shot to extend the lead back to six with under two minutes remaining.

Seth Allen went to the line and sunk both free throws, and on the ensuing possession, Wells drove to the lane and drew the foul, going to the line and sinking both free throws to pull within two. Layman got a steal on the inbound, and was fouled when he got a rebound off of his miss. Layman hit one of the two, to make it a 56-55 Syracuse lead with 47 seconds remaining. After the Orange hit one of two free throws, Allen missed the last-ditch buzzer beater to seal the loss.