It was always going to be a challenge for Ohio State.
Playing on the road Saturday against Maryland — a top team in the Big Ten — without JaQuan Lyle, the Buckeyes were going to need a special performance to pull an upset.
It didn't happen.
The Terrapins proved too much for a shorthanded Ohio State team in an 86-77 victory at the XFINITY Center. With the win, Maryland improved to 21-4 on the season and 9-3 in the Big Ten. The loss dropped Ohio State to 15-11 overall and 5-8 in the conference.
| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 31 | 46 | 77 |
| MARYLAND | 45 | 41 | 86 |
It was a balanced effort for the Terps as they put four players in double figures. Anthony Cowan led the way with a team-high 19 points. For Ohio State, Jae'Sean Tate and Marc Loving paced the offense. Tate finished with 20 points while Loving added a team-high 24. C.J. Jackson and Trevor Thompson also reached double figures as Jackson scored 13 and Thompson added 11. Thompson recorded his 10th double-double of the season as he also grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out.
A 3-pointer by Loving got Ohio State within five at 77-72 with 2 minutes, 30 seconds to play. But Kevin Huerter and Cowan responded with a pair of 3-pointers at the end of the shot clock down the stretch for big-time baskets to help ice the game. Kam Williams hit a 3 after the Huerter triple, but Cowan's 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining put Maryland up eight and it was too much to overcome.
Without Lyle, Ohio State was essentially forced to use a seven-man rotation with Dave Bell playing four minutes as the eighth player. As a result, Maryland's bench outscored the Buckeyes', 33-0.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| 77 | POINTS | 86 |
| 27–56 (48%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 27–55 (49%) |
| 8–17 (47%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 12–29 (41%) |
| 15–18 (83%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 20–28 (71%) |
| 14 | TURNOVERS | 8 |
| 32 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 30 |
| 9 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 9 |
| 23 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 21 |
| 0 | BENCH POINTS | 33 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 3 |
| 4 | STEALS | 3 |
| 11 | ASSISTS | 19 |
A hot shooting first half helped lift Maryland to a 45-31 lead at halftime. The Terrapins shot 55 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and hit 7-of-16 attempts from behind the 3-point line. Six different Maryland players hit a 3-pointer in the first half.
The Buckeyes were shorthanded without Lyle and it showed as the Terrapins held a 20-0 advantage in the first half off the bench. Jaylen Brantley led that charge with eight points while starters Trimble and Huerter scored nine and seven, respectively.
Loving led the way for Ohio State with nine first-half points while Jackson scored eight and Thompson had six points and seven rebounds.
Maryland scored the game's first nine points and the Buckeyes were forced to play catch-up from there. A jumper by Kam Williams got Ohio State within two at 13-11 at the 11:53 mark, but Maryland responded with an 11-2 run from there to stretch the lead to 24-13 with 8:43 to play.
The Terps' largest first-half lead was 16 when a Michal Cekovsky dunk capped a 6-0 run and put them up 40-24 with 3:16 to play. Tate scored inside and Jackson hit a 3 on back-to-back possessions to get Ohio State back within 11, but a layup by Trimble and a dunk by Damonte Dodd helped push Maryland's lead back to 14 at halftime.
Up next for the Buckeyes is a road game at Michigan State on Tuesday. That game is scheduled for 9 p.m.
