COLLEGE PARK, Md. _ It was a slow start after a short turnaround at the end of a long week. And Miles Bridges was ineffective all afternoon.
But No. 6 Michigan State shook off early shooting woes and a 13-point halftime deficit to recover for a 74-68 victory on Sunday at Maryland.
The Spartans (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten) won their fourth straight with a blistering second half after shooting 27.3 percent to open the game, hitting 16-for-30 shots after halftime. They used a 20-4 run over the first 5:30 of the second half to take the lead, then won the game at the free-throw line in the final minute after the Terrapins made it a two-point game with 1:43 remaining.
Joshua Langford scored 19 points for MSU, including four free throws late before fouling out. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks before fouling out in the waning seconds. Cassius Winston added 13 points and five assists, while Nick Ward had 12 rebounds with seven points.
Bridges scored 11 points on just 3-for-13 shooting, but he made four free throws in the final 8.5 seconds to seal the win.
MSU struggled shooting in the first half, making 9-of-33. Bridges was silent, making just a 3-pointer in his seven shot attempts for three points.
Maryland was hot, hitting three of its first four shots and racing out to an 11-3 lead by the first media timeout. That included three 3-pointers, two by Jared Nickens.
The Spartans got back in it with Jackson scoring six in an eight-point run. But Maryland dashed off a 19-9 run. Five Terrapins had six or more points, led by nine from Huerter, to take a 37-24 lead to halftime.
Langford's nine points led the Spartans before the break, and Jackson collected six points and five rebounds in 14 minutes but also had two fouls. So did Winston, who committed three of MSU's eight turnovers that turned into 15 Terrapin points.
That all changed at halftime, and the Spartans started making shots and preventing the Terps from doing the same.
Jackson drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first minute-plus, and Gavin Schilling's tip-in bucket gave MSU its first lead at 42-41 with 15:28 remaining.
From there, the two teams traded buckets and the lead for the next few minutes until MSU pulled away for good with a Ward layup, a Winston jumper and two free throws in a 2-minute span.
MSU returns East Lansing for a home game Wednesday against Penn State. The Spartans will play five of their final seven games on the road after facing the Nittany Lions.
