In the end, the Maryland men’s basketball team ran out of gas — and points.
Trailing by as much as 21 points in the first half, the Terps rallied in the second half and led by two with less than seven minutes left in regulation. But No. 23 Wisconsin proved to be too strong and too relentless and escaped the Xfinity Center with a 70-69 win Sunday night before an announced 10,864.
A jumper by senior shooting guard Eric Ayala tied the score at 57 with 4:57 left in the second half. But the Badgers went on a 7-4 spurt for a 64-61 lead with 1:34 remaining.
Graduate student point guard Fatts Russell was fouled with 36.5 seconds left, but missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Maryland was forced to foul. But Wisconsin converted six consecutive free throws to maintain a slight cushion.
Ayala nailed a 3-pointer to draw the Terps within 70-69 with four seconds remaining. Badgers senior point guard Brad Davison missed two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, but time ran out on Maryland, which fell to 8-7 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten Conference play.
Badgers junior power forward Tyler Wahl led all scorers with 21 points (12 in the second half) and five rebounds, and sophomore shooting guard Johnny Davis racked up 19 points and seven rebounds. Wisconsin improved to 13-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
After missing all five shots he took in the first half and going without a point, Ayala paced the Terps with 19 points and five rebounds. Russell added 13 points, six assists and two rebounds.
Trailing by seven at halftime, Maryland sprinted out of the locker room for a 10-2 run fronted by Russell’s four points and back-ended by Ayala’s back-to-back 3-pointers.
Ayala scored the Terps’ next six points on another 3-pointer and a traditional three-point play, and then freshman power forward Julian Reese (St. Frances) got his first basket of the game to give Maryland a 44-41 lead with 11:56 left in the second half.
But the Terps suddenly went dry, failing to make a field goal over a 2:36 stretch. That opened the door for Wisconsin to embark on a 10-6 spurt for a 51-50 lead fueled by six points from Wahl.
The Terps appeared out of sorts and outclassed by Wisconsin in the early stages of the game. The Badgers scored the game’s first seven points, while Maryland was 0-of-4 from the floor.
The two sides then traded six points each before Wisconsin scored 10 unanswered points over a 3:48 span to stretch their advantage to 23-6 with 10:02 left in the first half. Junior small forward Donta Scott ended the Terps’ drought at 5:18 with a layup, but the Badgers got back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore shooting guard Jordan Davis and freshman point guard Chucky Hepburn for a 29-8 lead with 8:21 remaining.
A jumper by sophomore shooting guard Hakim Hart though ignited a 15-0 run over 4:38 by Maryland that narrowed the deficit to 29-23 with 3:16 left in the first half. The fireworks were fueled by five points from graduate student shooting guard Xavier Green, who is known more for his defensive prowess, and four points each from junior center Qudus Wahab and Scott, who completed the rare four-point play on a 3-pointer and ensuing free throw.
But sophomore shooting guard Johnny Davis slammed home a dunk to end Wisconsin’s 5:57 drought and added a reverse layup to give the Badgers a 33-26 advantage at halftime.
