Maryland erased a 15-point halftime hole and finished off West Virginia 90-81 in overtime Sunday afternoon in an exhibition game at the XFINITY Center in College Park.
Andre Mills powered the Terps with a game-high 27 points, while Pharrel Payne delivered a bruising 26-point, 13-rebound double-double. That pairing set the tone for Maryland’s comeback, and West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said afterward, "I think you have to give Payne and Mills a lot of credit, and that's what you would anticipate early in the year because those guys have been with (Maryland coach) Buzz (Williams) for a long time and that was the difference in the game - their physicality and their ability to get the ball near the basket,"
Maryland’s second-half surge started with defense. The Terps held the Mountaineers without a point during a five-minute stretch early after the break, then finally moved ahead 57-56 on Mike McNair Jr.’s 3-pointer with 10:25 left. West Virginia kept punching back, though, and after Maryland built a 75-70 lead with 2:38 remaining, Finley Bizjack hit a 3 and Brenen Lorient dunked with 12 seconds left to force overtime.
Once the extra period began, Maryland slammed the door. Miller opened overtime with a 3, and West Virginia never made a field goal in the period. The Mountaineers’ only six points in overtime came at the free throw line.
"It was a very clear visual that when you do the things necessary to win, you have success, and when you don't, you won't," Hodge said. "We had just one turnover at halftime and were up 15, and then 13 turnovers in the second half and overtime combined that were just careless and a lack of execution."
Maryland was playing its second exhibition of the season after last week’s 85-70 win over Georgia Tech. The Terps also controlled the boards, finishing with a 48-36 rebounding edge and 24 offensive rebounds.
McNair finished with 15 points, and Kaden House added 10 off the bench for Maryland, now in Williams’ second season with the program.
West Virginia got a big night from Bizjack, who scored 25 points with 15 of them coming from long range on 5-for-8 shooting from deep. Freshman point guard Miles Sadler added 16 before fouling out in overtime, and Martin Sommerville and Seydou Traore each chipped in 13 off the bench.
Hodge said the rebound battle and Maryland’s ability to operate close to the basket were the deciding factors. "The whole second half, we were unable to establish an offensive identity or flow because we were consistently taking the ball out of the net or the ball was rattling around because we couldn't get enough clean defensive rebounds," he said.
"The separator was their ability to get the ball close to the basket and our inability to do the same thing. That was the difference in the game."
West Virginia has two more preseason tuneups left, at Glenville State next Friday night at 7 p.m. and against Wheeling at Hope Coliseum on Wednesday, Oct. 28, before opening the regular season against Niagara on Monday, Nov. 2.
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For a WVU offense still searching for its best version, that kind of balance matters. The staff has seen enough to believe there is more room for the passing game to grow as Hawkins becomes a more credible threat through the air, and the idea of that progress coming alongside the ground attack gives the Mountaineers a more promising path forward. [Read more 🡒]