Maryland season ends in heartbreaking fashion with 69-67 loss to LSU

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- After No. 6 seed Maryland overcame a slow start offensively and nine-point deficit at halftime in its Round of 32 matchup with No. 3 seed LSU March 23, the Terps had several late leads but the Tigers hit a pair of clutch shots in the final seconds of the game to escape Jacksonville with a 69-67 win and advance to the Sweet 16.

It was a roller coaster ride of a second half as the Terps and Tigers battled back and forth and exchanged the lead numerous times down the stretch.

Tigers junior wing Skylar Mays, who led LSU with 16 points, hit a three with 32.5 seconds left in the game to put his team ahead 67-64 in what looked to be a decisive shot. But the Terps did not go away quietly. Maryland freshman forward Jalen “Stix” Smith, who also led his team in scoring with 15 points for the Terps, hit a three from the corner that tied the game with under 20 seconds to go.

But in the end, a game-winning layup by LSU sophomore point guard Tremont Waters with 1.6 seconds left on the clock as he avoided blocks from both Smith and Bruno Fernando’s outreached hands sealed the fate of head coach Mark Turgeon’s team and ended Maryland’s season.

“First of all, give LSU credit,” Turgeon said. “They made two big-time plays. The three they hit and then the layup. We weren't very good for 25 minutes. Shot selection, defensively. We just weren't very good. I think we got down 16. And we switched to zone, and we got some confidence, took their confidence, and then we were better offensively. Not great, but we were better. It's a crazy game. You know, I'm really proud of my group. We didn't quit, and we never quit all year. We've played hard. We played a really good basketball team. It was hard to score against them. But basketball is crazy.

“Guys gave everything they had. I just feel bad for my team because people are so critical of me and my team, and we're the fourth youngest team in the country and we battled. We gave it everything we had. They deserve better. They deserved better today. That's why I'm disappointed.”

In terms of Waters’ game-winning shot, Turgeon said it wasn’t the play call that got the Terps, but rather execution on the part of the Tigers.

“The players knew exactly what was coming,” Turgeon said. “We all knew what was coming, it was whether we were going to be able to stop it or not.”

There were two clear turning points for the Terps as they transformed a 15-point deficit in the second half into a several ties and one-possession leads late in the game. The sparks that got Maryland going were a technical foul called against Turgeon and a switch to a zone defense that seemed to disrupt LSU’s flow on offense and slow down their transition game.

With the Terps down 13 and about 16 minutes left in the game, Turgeon picked up a technical foul after arguing a call of an illegal screen against Joshua Tomaic. But Maryland responded to their coach’s fire and went on a 13-3 run over the next four and a half minutes to pull within five.

“It was just like, come on, guys, we've got to play better,” Turgeon said of his message to his team after picking up a technical. “I was on them. Shot selection wasn't great at times. We were really searching in the first half. We went small right before half. Wiggins made some shots to keep it halfway decent. But I think once we cut it to five real quickly, we all thought we were going to win the game. We went up three. We all thought we were going to win the game. I never thought we were going to lose until the kid made the lay-up, to be honest with you.”

While Turgeon’s technical certainly seemed to wake the Terps up, he believes more of the credit should go to the switch to zone defense in the second half once LSU went ahead by double digits.

“It was a little bit of both, to be honest with you,” Turgeon said. “But I think our zone slowed them down, kept the little guy out of the paint a lot until the end, and then I thought Bruno and Stix did a phenomenal job protecting the rim. We just didn't rebound well enough a few times. We gave them too many shots. But we rebounded better, and they're a heck of a rebounding team, and I think we out-rebounded them by eight. But the zone definitely helped us.”

Speaking of protecting the rim, Smith not only led his team in scoring and came up with a clutch shot from three for the Terps at the end of the game, he also posted a career-high five blocks against the Tigers and was a force to be reckoned with down low for Maryland.

“Jalen was terrific,” Turgeon said. “What a great game he had. What a great year he's had.”

Smith was joined in the frontcourt by Fernando, who finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds in a tough matchup with LSU bigs Naz Reid, Emmitt Williams, and Kavell Bigby-Williams. Although the Tigers’ length, athleticism and overall physicality might have taken some time to adjust to, Maryland’s frontcourt performed admirably and ended up winning the battle on the boards 42-34.

Despite winning on the glass, some missed shots by Maryland on open looks and LSU’s resiliency came back to bite the Terps in the end.

“I did think we got used to [LSU’s size],” Turgeon said. “We got two pretty good athletes, too, in there. And we were able to get their guys in foul trouble throughout the game. We just didn't make enough jump shots. We had some open looks and some open free throws and Bruno had some lay-ups go out. Darryl had a three-point play I think that rolled out or somebody's lay-up went all the way in and went out. It was one of those days, and maybe we could have separated ourselves a little bit more, five or six, but yeah, they're big-time athletes, crazy athletes, and the point guard is terrific.”

Another factor that hurt the Terps in their Round of 32 matchup was their free throw shooting. Maryland missed seven from the line to LSU’s two, and Turgeon knows the outcome could have been different if his team shot better from the charity stripe.

“One thing I would like to change is maybe our free-throw shooting,” Turgeon said. “We missed seven free throws. Front end a one-and-one, I believe, too, so that would have helped us. They were 14 for 16. If we would have shot 21 for 23 we would have won the game, but we didn't; we were 16 for 23.”

Although losing a game in this fashion hurts in the moment, Turgeon knows he has a young team that exceeded many people’s expectations this season. With some tournament experience under its belt now and the majority of the roster expected to return next season, Turgeon and the Terps are certainly optimistic about the future.

“Seven of our top eight were freshmen and sophomores, and we've recruited pretty well, some things will happen in the spring I'm sure that will add some pieces,” Turgeon said. “You know, and we'll get even better. So I'm looking forward to coaching this group again next year.”

Terps sophomore Darryl Morsell, who finished with 10 points, five rebounds and a block, added to his coaches sentiment and believes he and his teammates will grow and bounce back from a tough loss.

“It's just going to make us hungrier,” Morsell said.