Maryland men’s basketball found itself down by nine points with about 14 minutes remaining against Nicholls State following a flurry of Colonel three-pointers.

The Terps’ floundering offense, desperate for an answer, turned to Donta Scott. The fifth-year senior, despite his recent struggles, delivered.

Scott drained a crucial pair of three-pointers to cut into Nicholls State’s advantage and scored half of Maryland’s points during an 18-6 Terps run that helped the home team regain the lead.

Scott made a season-high four threes and scored 15 points as Maryland outlasted Nicholls State, 73-67, on Tuesday. Fellow fifth-year senior Jahmir Young recorded his fifth 20-point game of the season, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and a perfect 10-for-10 mark from the free-throw line.

“[Donta’s] been our best player in practice and then he goes out in games and he hasn’t brought the same energy he’s brought in practice,” Willard said. “I just wanted him to focus on being the Donta Scott who plays hard, runs the floor, gets rebounds, does some things that really help the team.”

Willard’s squad bested a Colonels team coached by former Maryland director of player personnel Tevon Saddler, one of three former Terps staffers taking on their first season as a Division I head coach this year.

The Terps won their third straight game after falling in their Big Ten opener at Indiana and their 18th straight at home, the fourth-longest active streak in the country.

[Maryland men’s basketball shrugs off shooting struggles in 105-65 blowout of Alcorn State]

Maryland’s last loss at Xfinity Center came against UCLA in December 2022, the Terps’ only loss at home during coach Kevin Willard’s inaugural campaign. His squad travels to take on the Bruins on Friday. UCLA boasted the longest home winning streak in the nation at 29 games before falling to Cal State Northridge Tuesday.

Maryland (7-4) labored to just 28 first-half points, tied for its second-worst mark his year. It struggled to convert high-percentage looks throughout the opening 20 minutes, going 1-for-8 on layups and 1-for-5 from the line. The Terps shot 33.3 percent from the field in the first half as Julian Reese failed to provide his usual boost, scoring just three points on 1-of-5 shooting.

Reese finished Tuesday’s contest shooting 3-for-13 from the field and 3-for-11 from the free throw line but recorded a career-high six blocks.

The Terps stymied the Colonels’ interior efforts as well — Nicholls State went 4-for-16 on layups and Maryland notched a season-high eight blocks in just the first half. But Nicholls State (4-7) capitalized on Maryland defensive breakdowns where the Terps failed to switch.

The Colonels made their first three three-pointers and finished the first half 5-of-7 from deep.

A Scott three-pointer with just six seconds remaining in the half gave Maryland a 28-27 lead at the break. It wouldn’t last as Nicholls State continued its tirade from deep in the second half.

The Colonels, powered by Jalen White’s 5-for-6 outing from deep, finished 12-for-22 from three-point range on Tuesday. Those perimeter shots powered their early second-half run that forced Willard to call the Terps’ second timeout of the half.

“They were what, five, six for seven from three early or something like that, for us to try to run them off the line, try to limit them to one shot … and stay patient on the defensive end, that was the biggest thing,” Young said.

[Maryland men’s basketball hopes development of more scorers eases reliance on stars]

The Terps slowly chipped away at the Colonels’ nine-point advantage in large part due to Scott.

“I know that my team was down a little bit, wasn’t making shots that they normally make, and I know that I had to be a leader and I had to step up,” Scott said.

A tough layup from Jordan Geronimo and a three from Jahari Long capped a quick 7-0 run that helped the Terps regain the lead with just under seven minutes remaining.

Nicholls State cooled from deep but remained within striking distance of Maryland as the clock wound down. Another three from Long gave the Terps a six-point advantage with just more than a minute remaining, and Young hit six free throws in the final minute to secure a narrow victory over the Colonels.

The Terps travel west to take on the Bruins on Friday with one last chance to record a nonconference win against a high-major opponent.