Free throw shooting struggles plague Maryland men’s basketball in Christmas Day loss at Purdue

(Photo Courtesy of Maryland Athletics.)

Trailing 72-seventy with xviii seconds remaining, Maryland senior baby-sit Darryl Morsell drove hard down the baseline to the handbasket and was fouled on his layup attempt. Morsell's first gratis throw attempt rattled around and didn't fall, while the second shot missed as well–a crushing blow to Maryland'due south (5-three, 0-2 B1G) comeback try in its 73-70 loss against Purdue (7-3, two-1 B1G).

Those complimentary throws were Maryland's 10th and 11th misses of the game at the charity stripe, a primal element in the loss. Afterward Morsell's missed gratuitous throws, the Terps had some other opportunity to tie the game trailing by three with less than xx seconds left. Withal, on Maryland's final offensive possession, the Boilermakers played perfect perimeter defence.

They eliminated the pick and pop between baby-sit Eric Ayala and frontwards Donta Scott. That forced Ayala to settle for a deep contested three, which brutal short of the basket and secured Maryland'south second consecutive loss to start conference play.

"The last possession offensively and the ii missed free throws they add to it, but it's non the reason nosotros lost," caput bus Mark Turgeon said. "Information technology was one of those nights where you lot were just pond uphill the whole game and we just couldn't get over the hump."

Scott was phenomenal for the Terps in the second one-half with xv points, showing his offensive versatility to knock down threes and also take defenders off of the dribble. His resurgent 2d-half offensive performance wasn't enough, as all afternoon the Boilermakers fabricated timely shots, including x threes.

The guard tandem of Eric Hunter Jr. and Brandon Newman spearheaded the Boilermakers set on with a combined 33 points, headlined past Hunter's go-ahead layup with 38 seconds remaining. The Boilermakers prolific backcourt was pivotal in the victory as center Trevion Williams battled foul trouble throughout the game, playing just three minutes in the first half.

As a outcome of Williams' absence for most of the outset 20 minutes, the Boilermakers altered their offense attacking on the perimeter and playing through their guards. Over the form of a 4:16 stretch in the commencement one-half, Purdue shot six sequent threes looking to swing the ball chop-chop on the perimeter.

That strategy proved constructive equally the Boilermakers knocked downwardly four of those shots, which helped them gain some separation extending the lead to 30-xv. As the get-go half progressed, Maryland continued to chip away at the lead.

Aaron Wiggins knocked down a three from the wing to cut the deficit to 37-28 with 1:42 remaining. Purdue went the terminal 3:38 of the kickoff half without a field goal, simply still maintained a double-digit advantage at the line due to its success at the charity stripe. In the kickoff half, the Boilermakers converted 8-of-9 free throws, which helped counteract their offensive struggles downwardly the stretch.

"We didn't move the ball in the first half the fashion nosotros need to move the ball," Turgeon said.

To offset the second half, Turgeon utilized a unlike lineup with sophomore Chol Marial in at the heart position. In his most impressive minutes of the season, Marial drew an early foul on Williams that sent him to the bench. Later Williams was out of the game, the Terps put together a 12-2 stretch over the adjacent five:12 with their defense force serving as the catalyst.

During that menstruum, Wiggins and Morsell put together easy finishes, while Jairus Hamilton and Reese Mona each knocked down a triple that cut the arrears to 45-42 with 13:38 remaining. Mona provided tremendous energy on both ends of the floor for Maryland, giving the Terps a spark off of the demote. Shortly after a Jaden Ivey free throw, Hamilton knocked down another 3, putting the Terps within one.

However, Purdue bounced right dorsum with the timely shooting of Ivey. Inbound Friday'southward competition 1-nine from behind the arc, Ivey drilled back-to-dorsum threes extending the Boilermakers' pb to seven, providing an added cushion with 11:09 remaining.

The remainder of the 2d one-half, both teams traded baskets like a heavyweight bout. After Purdue extended its lead to ix, Maryland bounced dorsum, trimming the pb to 59-57 with 6:27 remaining keyed by Scott's impressive crime. Even so, Purdue continued to respond with timely baskets by Williams and Newman to regain some added breathing room with less than 5 minutes remaining.

As they did all night long, the Terps continued to battle keyed by Scott and Ayala, their two most consequent scorers this season, cutting the deficit to i-possession several times. All the same, the lapses offensively in the first half compounded past struggles at the line were likewise much to overcome.

The three-point loss is a heartbreaker for the Terps, who won't have long to reflect on the loss as they travel to Madison to take on No. 9 Wisconsin on Monday.

"I think we battled throughout the whole game, we started downwardly early and we played hard," Ayala said. "I remember we'll acquire a lot from it."

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Source: http://wmucsports.net/free-throw-shooting-struggles-plague-maryland-mens-basketball-in-christmas-day-loss-at-purdue/

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