U-M unable to recover from scoreless stretches
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – It couldn’t have been a better start for Michigan basketball’s trio of DMV prospects.
Dug McDaniel, a Paul VI graduate, penetrated the lane and kicked it out to Terrance Williams II, a Gonzaga product, who tipped a touch-pass to former Dematha star Hunter Dickinson.
The 7-foot-1 center — who grew up 14 miles south of Xfinity Center — flipped in the lefthanded hook and pumped up the crowd to a chorus of boos, as he ran back down the court.
But that was as good as the vibes got for the Wolverines all night long.
U-M went on two separate four-minute scoreless droughts in the first 10 minutes of the first half which allowed Jahmir Young and Maryland to get ahead by double digits and lead the rest of the way, avenging Michigan’s 35-point thumping in Ann Arbor on New Year’s Day with a 64-58 victory in College Park on Thursday.
“The biggest thing was we weren’t the most physical team,” said Dickinson. “They had 15 offensive rebounds — you can’t win a basketball game when they score 42 paint points and have 15 offensive rebounds.
“That’s where the game was won right there.”
Young, an AAU teammate with Michigan’s trio, was the catalyst, getting to the rim at will. The senior scored a game-high 26 points on 9 of 19 shooting while Hakim Hart added 10 and Donta Scott had nine points and seven rebounds.
Dickinson led Michigan with 21 points and 10 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the year, while Jett Howard had 13 and kept Michigan (10-8, 4-3 Big Ten) in the game in the first half with a flurry of 3-pointers but missed his final six shots of the night, all of which 3-pointers.
Williams had his best night of the month (and perhaps of the season), scoring nine points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds (four offensive). McDaniel, a freshman from Washington, struggled; he finished 2 of 10 from the floor with four points but had a team-high seven assists.
Drop down flip it and reverse it
The last time these teams met, Michigan jumped on Maryland 17-0 in that game and left little doubt the rest of the way.
On Thursday, it was the Terrapins drawing first blood. After a corner 3-pointer, Maryland got four consecutive buckets at the hoop, the last two of which were Young who took McDaniel to the rack for an 11-6 Terrapins lead.
“It was fun seeing one of my brothers who I was playing ever with since like fifth grade succeed out there,” Dickinson said. “Unfortunately it was against me, but just happy for him, happy he was able to come home and produce for the DMV.”
Donta Scott hit two free throws, Caelum Swanton-Rodgers finished over Dickinson at the rim and Scott found Hart on the outlet pass who threw down the slam to cap an 8-0 run, make it 17-6 and force a Michigan timeout.
At that point, U-M was 3 of 13 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3. To make matters worse, Howard picked up two fouls in three seconds with 11:14 left in the half but his head coach and father, Juwan, broke his usual “auto-sit” rule with two fouls and kept him in.
“I trusted that he wouldn’t pick up his third foul and fortunate enough it worked, not saying it always will, but it worked,” Howard said after the game. “He made some really good, tough shots for us at a time where we struggled to score. Was nice to see he was still aggressive.
“It’s a sign of growth from a young freshman ... but the most important thing is we can’t have him in foul trouble.”
It worked as the offense started to click. Tarris Reed Jr. threw down a dunk, Will Tschetter made a mid-range jumper and Howard hit a long ball from the wing on three straight possessions to get back within eight.
Maryland punched back with a quick 7-2 run to make it a 13-point game before the Wolverines closed the half on a 17-7 run. Howard hit another three, this time from the corner before Dickinson scored on a drop-step slam-dunk that seemed to get him going — though Swanton-Rodgers
returned the favor on the ensuing trip down to make it 30-20 Maryland.
Of the Terps’ first 32 points, 22 came in the paint.
“Maryland was the most aggressive team,” Howard said. “Look at the amount of points they scored in the paint, 42, then the amount of offensive rebounds, 15. It’s tough to win at any level of play ... if you allow a team to beat you up like that in the paint.”
Can’t quite come back
Maryland scored the first four out of the break but Michigan again weathered the storm.
After Maryland went up 40-34 in the second half, Howard hit two free throws then Dickinson recorded a tip-in before Williams had the best two-possession stretch of his season.
The Clinton, Maryland, native (30 minutes south of College Park) recorded two offensive rebounds on one trip, the second of which he tipped in to cut the lead in to two. After a stop, Michigan got out on the break, Williams caught the pass and put the Maryland defender in the spin-cycle before his layup tied the score at 42 with 12:01 to play.
That’s when Maryland’s offense got hot. The Terps would hit six of their next seven shots — the highlights a flying put-back slam by Scott and a nice up-and-under move by Hart — but consecutive Joey Baker buckets, a left-handed layup and a 3-pointer, kept Michigan in striking range, 55-49.
Michigan’s offense went silent the next 3:35, Maryland scored four straight, before a Dickinson long ball made it 59-52 with 4:05 to play.
“In the second half we shot 34% compared to the first half where we shot 50%,” Howard said. “We relied too much on outside shooting instead of driving and getting to the paint.”