COLLEGE PARK, Md. — In Maryland's 62-58 loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Terps’ offensive inconsistencies came back to haunt them.
After jumping out to a seven-point lead in the second half, Maryland failed to keep its offensive rhythm, resulting in its second straight loss.
Maryland junior forward Qudus Wahab finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while junior forward Donta Scott tallied 11 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Eric Ayala and graduate transfer Fatts Russell had a rough night, shooting a combined 3 for 19 from the field and scoring 10 points.
On a night when Maryland honored the legacy of Len Bias by giving away gold No. 34 jerseys to the Xfinity Center crowd, Wahab fed off an electric atmosphere during the opening minutes. Wahab, a transfer from Georgetown, scored seven of Maryland’s 12 points through the first five minutes of the game.
After the teams combined to commit four turnovers in 26 seconds, freshman Julian Reese’s layup gave Maryland a 16-12 lead with 10:47 remaining in the first half.
Maryland, which entered the game shooting 28.5% from the 3-point line, was 1 for 8 from deep during the first half and 1 for 13 for the entire game. Meanwhile, the Hokies generated most of their offense from the 3-point line, as 15 of their 31 first-half points came from behind the arc.
As Maryland struggled to find offensive consistency, Wahab continued to dominate the low post, scoring 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the first half. With the Terps trailing by one, Wahab nailed a contested layup to give Maryland a 27-26 lead with 2:40 remaining.
Scott extended Maryland’s lead to three when he pump-faked and drove to the rim to convert a hook shot with a defender draped all over him.
But Virginia Tech scored five unanswered points to close out the half. After Hokies guard Hunter Cattoor nailed a 3-pointer to give the Hokies a 31-29 lead, Maryland was called for a five-second violation after poorly executing an inbounds play.
The Terps had nine turnovers in the first half and 15 for the entire game.
Russell helped ignite an 8-0 run that gave the Terps a 37-33 lead to start the second half. After throwing a nice pass to Hart for a layup, the Rhode Island transfer charged toward the rim for a layup.
With 12 minutes remaining in the game, a crowd of students wearing gold Bias jerseys rose to their feet. After Russell’s layup attempt was blocked, Reese grabbed the offensive board and threw down a two-handed slam to give Maryland a 43-36 lead.
Maryland’s defense forced the Hokies to miss 13 consecutive shots. But the Terps’ inconsistent offense prevented them from taking advantage of Virginia Tech’s shooting woes, as they only led by two points with 7:28 remaining in the game.
Virginia Tech finally found some offensive rhythm, as it went on a commanding 10-2 run in the middle of the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from guard Nahiem Alleyne and Cattoor gave the Hokies a 52-48 lead with 5:20 remaining in the game.
Chants of “Let’s go Hokies” filled the arena when forward Keve Aluma scored to give Virginia Tech a six-point lead. Cattoor buried another 3-pointer, extending the Hokies’ lead to 59-52 with three minutes remaining.
With a minute left and the Terps trailing 59-56, Scott converted a layup to cut the lead to one point. But that’s as close as Maryland would get to victory.
Virginia Tech forward Justyn Mutts converted a tough layup to extend the Hokies’ lead to 61-58. Maryland had a chance to tie the game with 15 seconds remaining, but Hart missed a 3-pointer, sealing the Terps’ fate.
