Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored a career-high 27 points.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland men’s basketball led No. 22 UCLA by seven points with less than seven minutes remaining in the game, needing one more push to avoid another late-game collapse.
The Terps then embarked on an 8-0 run, sparked in an unorthodox way by UCLA head coach Mick Cronin. After Julian Reese secured a defensive rebound and the Terps pushed the ball up the floor, Cronin lost his cool and was awarded two technical fouls, ejecting him from the game and gifting the Terps four free throws.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie knocked down all four and then found Reese on the ensuing possession to put Maryland up by 15 points. With less than five minutes remaining, the Bruins could not overcome the loss of their coach and the sizable deficit, leading to a 79-61 upset victory at Xfinity Center Friday night.
“It’s huge,” Willard said of coming back home after a two-game road trip. “It was good to come home and have a couple days, and obviously have a great home crowd.”
The win was bigger in more ways than one for the Terps. They snapped a two-game losing streak, picked up their first ranked win of the season and inserted themselves back into the national conversation.
Gillespie led the charge with a career-high 27 points and four steals, while Reese followed in suit with 16 and 10 rebounds.
“I was making shots, so I just kept shooting,” Gillespie said.
The first 10 minutes of the game were defined perfectly by the crowd’s noise level at Xfinity Center — which was surprisingly full given students are still on winter break. Fast-break layups and step-back 3-pointers caused eruptions from Terps fans, but they were almost always met with a UCLA response.
First, forward Tyler Bilodeau sinked a push shot to deafen the crowd. Then, Kobe Johnson followed a Tafara Gapare 3-pointer with one of his own to keep the hostile environment under control.
Bilodeau, the Bruins’ leading scorer, proved to be a problem for Maryland all night — particularly in the first half. Bilodeau and fellow frontcourt member Eric Dailey Jr. combined for 11 of UCLA’s first 13 points, causing confusion for the Terps on defense.
After a defensive lapse, Gillespie threw his hands up in the direction of Derik Queen, before exchanging words with the freshman while Selton Miguel and head coach Kevin Willard passionately pleaded their sides to each other on the sideline.
Bilodeau finished the first half with 14 points on 5 for 7 shooting, but was outpaced by Gillespie’s 16. Gillespie was the driving force behind the Terps first-half lead, which ballooned to 10 points minutes before halftime. He made three 3-pointers and knocked down an and-1 mid-range jumper in the first 20 minutes, carving the Bruins defense from the perimeter.
Maryland shot 51.7% from the field and 44% from 3-point range in the first half, but only managed a four-point lead, as UCLA won the rebound battle, 16-12.
The second half continued many of the same trends from the first half. UCLA outrebounded the Terps, 30-25, and both teams relentlessly turned the ball over. UCLA committed 21 turnovers Friday, beating out the Terps’ 16.
Maryland’s defense was swarming to begin the second half. The Bruins were held to just 11 points through the first 11 minutes, including a four-minute drought that had Xfinity Center rocking after each stop.
Bilodeau was also held scoreless during the stretch, but that did not last long. A turnaround jumper ended the scoreless drought and an ensuing hook shot brought Maryland’s lead back down to seven points.
Bilodeau did not score in the game’s final seven minutes, and without his offense production, the Bruins were unable to escape Xfinity Center with a win.
Three things to know
1. First ranked win. After falling to No. 7 Marquette, No. 15 Oregon and No. 20 Purdue by less than six points each, the Terps closed the door on UCLA late to pick up their marquee win of the season thus far. Now, they will need to prove they can do it on the road, with their next ranked opportunity coming in less than two weeks at No. 13 Illinois.
2. Rotation uncertainty. Despite Maryland being firmly in the thick of Big Ten play, it has still yet to find a consistent rotation. While Jay Young and DeShawn-Harris Smith occupy most of the guard and wing minutes off the bench, Willard still has not decided how to split the backup forward minutes between Gapare and Geronimo. Against Washington last week, Geronimo played a season-high 22 minutes — while Gapare played just four — but has only seen the floor for two minutes over the last two games. Freshman Malachi Palmer also played Friday for the first time since Dec. 28.
“Analytics tells me who plays well together, and there’s a huge, huge difference when Tafara’s playing with certain guys and Jordan’s playing with certain guys,” Willard said. “Right now, Tafara is, just from numbers and helping out [Reese] spacing, the guy that’s really helping us.”
3. Queen looked lost at times. Despite the win, Queen put forth a less than encouraging performance, posting just eight points and a team-high five turnovers. His talent is undeniable, but his consistency is certainly in question.