NEWARK, NJ – Maryland men’s basketball evened its record against Big East foes.
Nine days after losing to No. 1 Marquette 15, the Terps slept through the first half before mounting a huge comeback in the second half and stunning Villanova, 76-75, on Sunday afternoon in the Saatva Empire Classic at Prudential Center.
Freshman center Derik Queen scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half — including the game-winning free throw — and grabbed 11 rebounds to spark Maryland’s rally. Junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 10 of his 12 points in the same frame, senior power forward Julian Reese tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice poured in 16 points to help the team forget its 78-74 loss from earlier. Golden Eagles on November 15.
The Terps (5-1) overcame a 14-point halftime deficit that was exacerbated by an offense that made just 20% (2 of 10) of its three-pointers in the first half and finished at 31.6% (6 of 19) for the game. Rice (3 of 8) was the only player to score from long range more than once.
Maryland turned the ball over 11 times in the same frame, which the Wildcats converted into 13 points.
But in the second half, Maryland turned to Queen and Gillespie. The Baltimore native and five-star recruit scored eight straight points over a 3:03 span including giving the team the lead, 57-55, for the first time since the score was 5-4 with 16:26 left in the first half. .
After Villanova regained the lead at 66-63, Gillespie intervened. The Belmont transfer scored six straight points, including a 3-pointer that lifted the Terps to a 69-68 lead with 3:08 remaining.
In the final 75 seconds, the game was controlled by Queen and Wildcats graduate student power forward Eric Dixon. Dixon, who reached the 20-point threshold for the sixth straight time started with 38 points on 15-of-29 shooting (including 5-of-11 from 3-point range) hit a 3 with 1:15 remaining to give Villanova a 73-72 lead. lead.
Queen answered with a layup at 0:58, while Dixon answered with a layup at 0:28. But Queen was fouled with 21.7 seconds remaining, and he made both free throws to give Maryland a 76-75 lead.
In the final seconds, sophomore guard Tyler Perkins and Dixon missed 3-pointers, and the Terps escaped with the win.
The 6-foot-8, 265-pound Dixon made his presence known early. He scored the first goal of the game and then eight straight points to cap an 11-0 run that lifted the Wildcats to a 15-5 lead with 13:25 remaining in the first half.
Rice’s 3-pointer at the 13:13 mark ended a 3:13 drought for the Terps, who got three free throws from Rice 30 seconds later to tie the game at 15-11. But that would be the closest they would get in the first half to Villanova, who constantly attacked Dixon.
Dixon’s offensive rebound and putback with 3:34 remaining in the opening frame gave him 20 points and was part of a 9-0 spurt by the Wildcats, who enjoyed their largest lead of the half at 38-24.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
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Gaming Hub
A gaming hub can refer to a central platform or space dedicated to gaming, where players can access games, interact with other gamers, and enjoy related content. Here are a few different kinds of gaming hubs you might be referring to:
Physical Gaming Hubs:
Gaming Cafés: Physical locations where players can rent time on high-end gaming PCs or consoles to play popular multiplayer or single-player games.
Esports Arenas: Specialized venues for competitive gaming tournaments where players or teams face off in games like League of Legends, CS
, or Fortnite.
Digital Gaming Hubs:
Steam, Epic Games Store, or GOG: Digital storefronts where you can purchase and play games, join online communities, and access updates and patches.
Game Launchers: Platforms like Steam, Blizzard’s Battle.net, and Xbox Game Pass often act as hubs where gamers can access multiple titles and keep track of their library.
Cloud Gaming Platforms: Services like NVIDIA GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming that allow players to stream games on various devices without needing high-end hardware.
Social/Community Gaming Hubs:
Discord Servers: Dedicated communities for games where players can chat, share tips, and find others to play with.
Reddit Communities: Subreddits dedicated to specific games or gaming news.
Gaming Consoles as Hubs:
Systems like the PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch act as central hubs for playing games, interacting with friends, and even streaming content like Netflix or Twitch.
If you meant something specific by “gaming hub,” let me know and I can elaborate further!
