COLLEGE PARK — As haplessly as Maryland has fared against Penn State in football, there was some solace that the pendulum had swung the other direction in men’s basketball.
Not necessarily though. Since the Terps joined the Big Ten in 2014, they held a slight 8-7 edge against the Nittany Lions, who won the last meeting, 65-64, in their regular-season finale on March 5.
Maryland earned a measure of redemption Wednesday night as the inside-outside combination of Jahmir Young and Julian Reese combined for 52 points to help defeat visiting Penn State, 81-75, in overtime before an announced 15,290 at Xfinity Center. It was the program’s first overtime game and win at home since Jan. 19, 2016, when that team outlasted Northwestern, 62-56.
“I feel like it definitely gives the team confidence,” said Reese, a junior power forward from Baltimore who graduated from St. Frances. “After tonight, we can see we battled through adversity and stayed together, especially when the game probably should have been over earlier. We were able to take care of business in overtime. I feel like it builds confidence, and it just solidifies how we can play in his league.”
Young, a fifth-year senior point guard, compiled 28 points, eight rebounds and three assists and leads all active Big Ten players with 45 20-point games. His 12-for-12 outing at the free-throw line is tied for the fourth-best performance in school history.
Reese amassed 24 points and 15 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and his fourth 20-point, 10-rebound performance of his career. He tied a career high set against Coppin State on Nov. 25, 2022, and was one rebound shy of a personal best established at Nebraska on Feb. 19.
Freshman small forward Jamie Kaiser Jr. chipped in career highs in points (10) and steals (four) before fouling out with 1:45 left in the extra session. That trio helped offset a rough showing for fifth-year senior small forward Donta Scott, who scored only four points and had as many turnovers (two) as field goals on 11 shots but did grab 10 rebounds.
The victory not only helped the Terps (5-4, 1-1 Big Ten) rebound from their Big Ten-opening 65-53 loss at Indiana on Friday, but it also helped them avoid their third 0-2 start in the league in the past four seasons. They also dodged what would have been their worst opening nine-game stretch since the 1986-87 squad started 3-6.
Maryland collected its 16th consecutive win at Xfinity Center, joining Boise State and Vermont for the seventh-longest streak at home. The team has not suffered a setback in College Park since Dec. 14, when UCLA rolled to an 87-60 victory.
The Terps owned the boards, outrebounding Penn State 53-31, including 23-9 on the offensive glass. Although that led to only an 18-8 advantage in second-chance points, the Terps did go to the free throw line 39 times, making 30 attempts. The Nittany Lions converted 19 of 21 free throws.
“Being in the bonus early was in our favor,” said Young, who tied eight other Terps who went 12 of 12. “So just getting downhill, being sure, and being strong when we get there. We’re all great free-throw shooters. So just trying to get to the line and get easy ones, we made that an emphasis.”
Still, coach Kevin Willard saw more room for improvement than a reason to relax.
“You’re just relieved that you won a conference game. Just looking at our numbers, there’s really no joy right now,” he said. “I’m happy we won and glad that we pulled it out and happy for these kids that work so hard, but we just have a lot of stuff we need to fix.”
The Terps continued to find their offensive rhythm at home, where they are averaging 82.4 points compared with just 54.3 on the road. But they shot just 34.3% from the field and 20% (5-for-25) from 3-point range.
The Nittany Lions (4-5) dropped their fifth game in a row and have not won since Nov. 17. The loss was their third in the past four meetings with Maryland.
Sophomore point guard Kanye Clary paced Penn State with 25 points and four rebounds, while senior shooting guard Ace Baldwin Jr. (St. Frances) added 16 points and five assists. Graduate student power forward Qudus Wahab, who spent the 2021-22 season with the Terps and averaged 7.7 points and 5.6 rebounds, finished with six points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 4:04 left in the second half.
This is Penn State’s first year without coach Micah Shrewsberry, who was named March 23 as Notre Dame’s new coach after taking the Nittany Lions to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Six days later, the university announced it had hired Mike Rhoades from Virginia Commonwealth.
With the score tied at 71 after regulation, Maryland scored the first five points in overtime. After the Nittany Lions answered with four straight points on free throws, the Terps got a layup-and-one from freshman shooting guard DeShawn Harris-Smith (seven points, eight rebounds, four assists) and two free throws from Young to cement the final score.
Penn State missed all eight of its shots in the extra session, but Rhoades declined to say his players were fatigued.
“I don’t want to make excuses and say we ran out of gas because we had a couple opportunities,” he said. “We missed two threes in overtime, and they were butt naked. So it would have been nice to knock them down. But I think we’ve got to get to a point where late in the game we really try to find a way to score with certain guys.”
Alcorn State at Maryland
Tuesday, 7 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: 105.7 FM
