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Maryland basketball went scoreless for the last six minutes against Nebraska, losing 67-65 in a game the Terps had wrapped up.
Maryland led 65-53 with six minutes left. The Terps didn’t score again. Instead, the Cornhuskers went on a 16-1 run to end the game.
Tai Webster gave Nebraska a lead with a layup in the final minute, then added to it at the line to give Nebraska a two-point lead.
Melo Trimble missed a three that would have given the Terps a lead, but a Nebraska foul gave his team one more shot. Trimble took the desperation heave as well, but it came up short.
The loss moves Maryland to 13-2 on the season (1-1 Big Ten).
Freshman Kevin Huerter keyed Maryland’s offense all game, scoring 26 points on 17 shots, 11 of which were three-pointers. All eyes were on him for most of this game, but Nebraska’s comeback makes his performance an afterthought.
The Cornhuskers led for much of the first half before Maryland took a brief lead with two minutes to go. The Terps didn’t wait that long to grab a lead in the second half, doing so on a Trimble three-pointer with 11 minutes left in the game.
Huerter kept Maryland in the game. Trimble is usually the guy to come to Maryland’s aid when the Terps need an injection of points, but the freshman deadshot was all his team needed. He hit three after three, sending Xfinity Center into fits of joy.
The Terps didn’t have center Michal Cekovksy once again, but fellow big man Damonte Dodd made return from injury return to the floor, although he. Dodd played six minutes and contributed four rebounds. Ivan Bender and L.G. Gill were capable replacements, though they didn’t have the same pick-and-roll chemistry with Anthony Cowan that they did against Illinois.
Glynn Watson Jr. was Nebraska’s main source of offense. He had 17 points, but the Huskers couldn’t surround him with much else. That was, until Webster took over in the final minutes. He finished with 18 points and keyed the Huskers surprising win.
Both teams started slow. Through eight minutes, Maryland and Nebraska had combined to make exactly three shots. Play picked up after that, as the Cornhuskers started making shots before the Terps caught up.
Maryland scored 10 points in the first nine minutes of play, then scored 10 more in the next two minutes. Huerter then came alive and helped Maryland narrow it to 34-30 at halftime. He had 16 points at the break, but he was far from done.
Maryland used a 17-0 run to take a big lead in the second half, but let Nebraska into it with a five-minute scoring drought. The Terps had a 65-64 lead with 1:34 to play, but let it slip away.
Three things to know
- Nebraska had an incredible comeback. The Terps looked to have this one easy. Then everything went wrong for Maryland and everything went right for Nebraska.
- Kevin Huerter got himself going offensively. Huerter has started every game this season, but Sunday was easily his best performance. He only took four shots in the Terps win over Illinois earlier in the week, and was much more aggressive from the start this time around.
- Damonte Dodd played in a basketball game. This is a positive development for a team that’s had to play without both of its giants recently. Playing without Cekovsky and Dodd might help Bender and Gill along in their development this season, which could help the Terps use a couple different lineups when they return.