The Maryland men’s basketball team overcame two seven-point deficits in the second half and junior guard Eric Ayala made two free throws with 3.3 seconds left to give the Terps a 61-60 win over No. 24 Purdue at Xfinity Center on Tuesday night.
It’s Maryland’s first home win in Big Ten Conference play and the team’s fourth over a ranked opponent this season. Ayala scored 16 points, while junior guard Aaron Wiggins led the team with 18. Senior guard Darryl Morsell added 11.
It was maybe a bit of poetic justice that the area of the game that plagued Maryland (10-8, 4-7 Big Ten) so much in the first half aided them in the comeback victory. The Terps were outrebounded 17-9 in the first half, including 6-0 on the offensive boards. But down 60-59, Ayala secured a key offensive board, one of three in the game for Maryland, after missing a close shot and was fouled on his ensuing attempt, setting him up for the game-winning free throws.
Boilermakers forward Trevion Williams (game-high 23 points) was called for a double dribble with less than a second remaining, a fitting end to a game that was marred by 16 turnovers in the first half and 25 in the entire game.
The Terps were down by three at halftime, 27-24, and faced a seven-point deficit early in the second half but erased it and led by as many as two before going down by seven again with 3:45 remaining in the game.
Back-to-back 3s from Ayala and Wiggins tied the game at 36 with 12:53 remaining and then another Wiggins 3-pointer gave the Terps a 39-38 lead with under 12 minutes to go. Yet another Wiggins 3-pointer tied the game at 42 with under 12 minutes remaining. The Terps made five of seven 3-point attempts over a seven-minute span as they went back-and-forth with the Boilermakers. After shooting 1 for 12 from beyond the arc in the second half, Maryland made eight of 13 in the second.
After sophomore forward Donta Scott hit another 3-pointer to give Maryland a 48-47 lead with under six minutes remaining, Purdue went on a 5-0 run to take a 52-48 lead with five minutes remaining.
A Morsell 3-pointer cut the deficit to two, 60-58, with 1:33 remaining and Ayala later had the opportunity to tie the game at 60 but made just one of two free throws.
After a stop on defense, Ayala got the ball in his hand for one final moment. He was matched up on Williams after a switch and despite being surrounded by several Purdue defenders, secured his own rebound. After the foul, he didn’t miss his chance at redemption, sinking both free throws.
