BLACKSBURG, Va. — Maryland’s last conference road win came exactly one year ago at Clemson. Since then, the Terps had dropped eight straight ACC games away from College Park, hardly developing into the travel-savvy squad Coach Mark Turgeon had hoped. With far more to lose from its NCAA tournament resume than gain through a relatively soft February stretch, Maryland needed to avoid a letdown Thursday night at Virginia Tech.
Despite another enigmatic performance, the Terrapins moved back to .500 in conference play with a 60-55 win, their second straight.
The Hokies (11-11, 2-7 ACC) dropped their fifth straight.
Maryland (17-6, 5-5) had a chance to blow out Virginia Tech again early, surging to a 10-point lead out of the chute, aided by eight points from Jake Layman, who torched the Hokies for a career-high 20 on Jan. 5. But the Terps hit an extended cold snap, netting just one field goal and three points over the final 10 minutes.
Ten turnovers didn’t help matters, but Maryland’s shot selection, at times an issue this season, wasn’t exactly poor against Virginia Tech’s 2-3 zone. The Terps found open three-pointers, but rushed jumpers rather than unearthing higher-percentage looks with crisp passing. The Hokies endured similar struggles, but mounted a steady run that chipped away at the Maryland lead. Erick Green swished a corner three-pointer in transition that sent Virginia Tech into intermission with a 27-24 lead.
The Hokies had been here before. They led both Miami and North Carolina at halftime, ultimately succumbing to late collapses that plunged them into a four-game losing streak. Maryland, meanwhile, entered 0-4 this season when trailing at halftime.
Something gave way early. Maryland immediately regained the lead in the second half after Nick Faust leaked out for a transition dunk and Layman stuck a three-pointer from the right wing. The quick burst, capped off by a Layman baseline floater, put the Terps ahead 31-27 and forced an early timeout from Hokies Coach James Johnson.
Maryland extended its lead to 46-37 when Pe’Shon Howard split a high double team and found Alex Len for a baseline slam, but Virginia Tech quickly engineered a 7-0 run that chopped the deficit to two and sparked a Turgeon timeout.
As the game puttered to its finish, littered with timeouts and fouls on both ends, the Terps kept their space from distance, shooting 4 for 8 from beyond the arc after halftime. In virtually the opposite script of Maryland’s offense-heavy blowout over the Hokies in its early-January ACC opener, both sides resorted to a slugfest. Layman finished with 14 points and Padgett, in his third straight start, added eight points and 11 rebounds. Green paced Virginia Tech with a game-high 29 points, but the Hokies shot just 2 of 18 from three-point range.
The Terps hardly helped their case, compounding the problem with 13 missed free throws on 23 attempts. But Len, who finished with 10 points and five rebounds, nailed two with less than one minute left, putting them up 56-53. Holding strong for Virginia Tech’s next possession, Nick Faust stepped to the line. The sophomore had missed two crucial free-throws late in a heartbreaking loss to Florida State, but calmly drilled his pair too.
The Terps goaded Green into a desperation deep three-pointer, but after Wells snagged the errant rebound he tossed an ill-advised crosscourt pass. Green got fouled by Padgett in the process, and hit his two attempts from the charity stripe. Seth Allen made it a two-possession game with one free throw, and when Jarrell Eddie (two points, 1 of 8 shooting) bricked a turnaround three-pointer on the other end, Maryland could finally breathe, the road monkey at last lifted off its back.
