UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With 10 minutes left against Penn State on Tuesday night, Maryland men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon called for a timeout and lifted his arms as he walked off the bench.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets, looked up, closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. He pointed for his players to huddle their chairs away from him and then stood motionless with his assistants.
After a few moments, he took to the group to discuss their plans for chipping away at an improbable 14-point deficit.
The No. 21 Terps hadn’t lost away from Xfinity Center all season — nine trips, nine wins. To have the first come in a sparsely filled Bryce Jordan Center against a team three days removed from losing to the Big Ten’s embarrassment in Rutgers wasn’t what Turgeon expected.
But that’s what happened as the Terps missed 39 of their 59 shots, clanged 10 free throws off the rim and committed 13 turnovers.
It marked the first time the Terps have lost consecutive games since last February. Perhaps even more troubling is the Happy Valley dud came after the Terps displayed an improved post presence and offensive rhythm against the Boilermakers, their first ranked foe.
While the one-point loss Saturday stung, Turgeon texted his players that night and believed they had the resilience to continue their upstart trounce through the conference. Guard Melo Trimble traded messages with Turgeon on Sunday, too, and felt his team wouldn’t dwell on the blip.
Maybe they didn’t, but Turgeon admitted Monday’s practice was poor, and Tuesday’s showing couldn’t have been any better than that.
“Most games, we’ve really competed and done some things and can stick together,” Turgeon said at the dais moment after the final buzzer. “Tonight just didn’t have that feel.”
As Turgeon spoke about that lack of energy, composure and preparedness, his right hand rarely left the side of his head.
He looked too exhausted, too puzzled and too frustrated from yelling throughout the contest and trying to regroup his unit during the breaks to bother sitting up straight while recounting his team’s feeble showing.
Guard Melo Trimble: C-
While his teammates never found a rhythm, Trimble helped the Terps keep pace early, notching eight points in the first seven minutes and entering the break 4 of 7 for 10. He had one point in the final 20. His looks weren’t falling — he missed all six in the second period — but he never drove to the basket with consistency to offset the inefficient shooting. The junior has been the team’s catalyst late in games and his inefficiency was a big factor in the Terps’ inability to complete a comeback.
Guard Anthony Cowan: D
The freshman has missed his last 11 three-pointers, and opponents have begun to sit back for better defense on his moves in the lane. After an 0-for-5 skid against the Nittany Lions with his lone two points coming on foul shots, he’s 2-for-15 in the Terps’ two losses. While he remains one of the team’s most effective defenders, Cowan’s offensive prowess, the kind he displayed by posting double digits in four of the first six Big Ten games, has to return for the Terps to regain their rhythm in the upcoming stretch.
Guard Kevin Huerter: B
The rookie was the Terps’ most consistent guard Tuesday as three of his four field goals were 3-pointers, including one with about five minutes left to cut the deficit to eight. In his team-leading 37 minutes, he also contributed four rebounds, five assists and two steals while playing a role in the second-half full-court press. Still, his three turnovers proved he wasn’t immune to the team’s lapses throughout the evening.
Forward Justin Jackson: C+
A week after igniting for a 50-point, 22-rebound spurt in two contests, Jackson has cooled off. He led Maryland with 14 points, but four came on layups in the final 30 seconds. The freshman’s nine rebounds helped the Terps keep pace on the glass — their 39 rebounds were two more than Penn State — but he had three giveaways and missed a few putbacks that would’ve helped generate continuity down the stretch.
Forward Michal Cekovsky: B-
The Slovakian big man battled foul trouble late in the second half, and as he sat on the bench with forward Damonte Dodd, the Terps’ lack of center depth showed. When he was logging his eight minutes, five points and three rebounds, though, his size and power in the offensive paint flashed signs of the production the Terps need to compete with the Big Ten’s powers — or at the very least to compete with Penn State. If Cekovsky can stay healthy after he returns to full strength from his six-game ankle injury absence, the Terps’ post scoring should improve.
