Maryland men’s basketball found itself in another close game down the stretch Sunday against Nebraska.

Despite holding a nine-point lead with five minutes to go, the Terps’ advantage quickly evaporated across a two-minute stretch. Nebraska scored on four straight possessions to tie the game with a minute to go.

Maryland hunkered down defensively and cobbled together just enough offense to do that, escaping Xfinity Center with a 69-66 win over Nebraska. It was the fifth time in the Terps’ last six games that the final score gap was two possessions or less.

“We needed that win,” fifth year guard Selton Miguel said. “We just came back from a tough loss. … We just came together and we needed this win at home.”

They’ve only come out on top in two of those, both in the friendly confines of Xfinity Center, but it was a needed win for a Maryland (14-5, 4-4 Big Ten) team that has mightily struggled on the road and travels to Illinois and Indiana for its next two games.

Maryland got huge contributions from its starting guards. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel formed a deadly attack that combined for 50 points on 18 made field goals. It was just the second time this season that the trio each scored double-digit points against a high-major opponent, the last one coming in an 83-78 loss to Purde on Dec. 8.

[Maryland men’s basketball’s road woes continue in 76-74 overtime loss to Northwestern]

The trio’s performances were much-needed for a team that didn’t get strong offensive outputs from anyone else. The big man duo of Julian Reese and Derik Queen combined for just 11 points, while no other Terp scored more than four.

With Queen turning in one of his worst performances of the season — three points on 0-for-4 shooting with three turnovers — coach Kevin Willard turned to one of his sparsely-used veterans for some key minutes.

Fifth-year forward Jordan Geronimo played 11 minutes, the bulk of those coming down the stretch of each half, and largely shifted the momentum both times. He finished as a game-high +11 to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks, plus a key defensive stop with Maryland up three on its final defensive possession.

“I have so much confidence in the fact that if we need energy, we need defensive stops, he’s our guy,” Willard said. “We needed some energy. I thought Jordan was phenomenal the last four minutes of the first half, and then really changed the complexion of the game in the second half.”

Maryland jumped out to an early lead in large part due to Nebraska’s apparent offensive disjointedness. The Terps forced six turnovers in the first eight minutes, the last of which created a Gillespie transition layup that gave them a seven-point lead — tied for Maryland’s largest of the half.

But Nebraska controlled the pace for the rest of the period and ended it on a 26-21 run. Maryland coughed the ball up eight times in the last 12 minutes while the Huskers gave it away just three more times.

Maryland’s energy waned with its offensive struggles. A lull overtook Xfinity Center as Nebraska went on a 15-5 run, while Maryland went nearly four minutes without a field goal, but the Terps responded and closed the half on an 11-4 run. They clung to a 37-35 lead at the break.

[Derik Queen’s career-high 27 points push Maryland men’s basketball past Minnesota, 77-71]

Both sides traded runs to start the second half. Maryland scored 10 points in four minutes before Nebraska retook the lead, 55-54, with a hot shooting stretch of its own.

Maryland exploded from there.

Sophomore guard Rodney Rice poured in seven straight points just over halfway through the period. Gillespie added a 3-pointer shortly after to give the Terps a nine-point advantage, their largest of the game. The 10-0 run put Maryland in a comfortable position with just more than five minutes remaining.

But Maryland — who’s struggled to close games late — allowed Nebraska to storm back. The Huskers made three field goals in a 90-second span to put the Terps on their heels.

With the game tied at 66, Gillespie drove hard to the rim and used his soft touch to convert a layup, extraordinarily similar to his two crucial baskets in regulation and overtime against Northwestern on Thursday.

The Terps held on with two critical stops — a Reese steal and a Geronimo defensive stand plus a rebound that sealed the game — to emerge victorious despite the near-catastrophic slip-up down the stretch.

“My goal was to be 5-3 right now with our schedule [in the Big Ten],” Willard said. “I thought that was what we should be and, in my opinion, I still think we should be somewhere in that range. … You look at the schedule, and you have to be really realistic at times with your team.”