UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Derik Queen scored a game-high 23 points (six rebounds and four steals) as No. 16 Maryland (22-7, Big Ten 12-6) had 21 points off 16 takeaways to beat Penn State, 68-64, at the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 19 points (seven assists and three 3-pointers) and Selton Miguel contributed 17 points in the win.
Ace Baldwin Jr. led three double-digit scorers for PSU with 18 points (8-of-8 free throws). D’Marco Dunn (14 points) and Freddie Dilione V (12 points) combined for 26 points as Penn State dropped to 15-15 (5-14) on the year.
FIRST HALF
Maryland started 5-for-10, capitalizing early off Penn State’s mistakes. The Terrapins finished the half with 12 points off seven Nittany Lion turnovers. However, the No. 16 ranked team in the country hit a cold spell, going 7-for-25 over the final 13:47. Penn State was able to get its first lead of the night after a Dunn 3, igniting a personal 7-0 run. PSU used another 7-0 run to lead by as many as eight before Maryland cut it down to six at halftime (36-30).
SECOND HALF
Maryland forced five Penn State turnovers during a 14-8 run to start the second half. Queen (13 second-half points) made a layup to give the Terrapins a 46-44 lead at the 14:36 mark, their first since it was 22-20. Maryland would lead the rest of the way, as Rodney Rice iced the game on a pull-up two.
DECIDING FACTOR
Aside from the 16 forced turnovers, Maryland rode the coattails of Queen, Gillespie and Miguel, who scored 59 of the Terrapins’ 68 points.
TAKEAWAYS
The Turnover Plague
For the sixth time this season, Penn State had 16 or more turnovers. It is now 2-4 in those games.
Rhoades: “Too many unforced turnovers that led to points we couldn’t defend. They had 21 points off of our turnovers. They made some plays … But I just thought we had forced turnovers that really hurt us.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Senior Day Reflections
Baldwin Jr. and Dunn combined for 32 points in their last game in the Bryce Jordan Center. Afterwards, they reflected on their time at Penn State.
Baldwin Jr.: “It’s been a tough year. There’s been ups and downs, but it’s bigger than basketball. I created a great bond with my teammates. I’ve been with coach (Rhoades) for like five years, so I think it’s just bigger than basketball. It’s more like family things. So it’s been great”
Dunn: “It hasn’t really hit me yet. I’m sure this next week it will, and I’ll be sitting at home thinking about the game we played. It’s been a great ride here. I appreciate Penn State taking me in …”
Finishing Out The Season
Penn State will travel to No. 11 Wisconsin for its last game of the season. With the Big Ten Tournament officially out of the picture, Mike Rhoades wants his team to finish the season the right way.
Rhoades: “Do it right. Do it right for the name on the front. Do it right for the name on the back. This is the last week that we’ll be together — this team here with these seniors. Do it right. Do everything right. If you’re about the right stuff, if you care about your teammates, you’ll approach this week the right way as a basketball player. And let’s go see what happens at Wisconsin on Saturday because we get to put the uniform on again.”
PRESS CONFERENCE
