Freshman Connor Essegian made two late 3-pointers and Wisconsin used stingy second-half defense to topple No. 13 Maryland 64-59 on Tuesday night in Madison, Wis., handing the Terrapins their first loss of the season.
The Badgers (7-2, 1-0 Big Ten) blew a 12-point lead in the first half but recovered after the break behind a defense that held the Terrapins without a field goal during a decisive 7:47 span of the second half.
Chucky Hepburn drilled a late 3-pointer on his way to 13 points and Steven Crowl added 12 points and six rebounds for Wisconsin.
Jahmir Young led Maryland (8-1, 1-1) with 17 points. Julian Reese battled foul trouble to contribute 10 points and six rebounds. Donta Scott added nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
When Young hit a floater in the lane with 11:24 left, Maryland held a 43-42 lead. However, the Terrapins missed their next 10 shots from the floor as the Badgers took command.
The two 3-pointers by Essegian came 53 seconds apart and were sandwiched around a pair of free throws by teammate Carter Gilmore. The 8-0 burst gave Wisconsin a 53-45 lead with 6:31 to go.
After that, the closest Maryland got was four points. The Terrapins shot better from beyond the arc, hitting 10 of 24 (41.7 percent), than they did overall (38.2 percent). Maryland also committed 14 turnovers.
Wisconsin shot 42.6 percent from the floor and made 7 of 21 3-point tries (33.3 percent). The Badgers overcame a 37-30 disadvantage on the boards.
The Badgers executed their offense efficiently in the first half. During one stretch, they made 8 of 10 field-goal attempts, including 3-pointers from Max Klesmit, Hepburn and Jordan Davis, as they rolled to a 27-15 lead.
If it was a shock to the system of Maryland — which hadn’t trailed by more than three points in a game this season — it didn’t show. The Terrapins answered with a quick-strike 11-0 run.
In a span of 2:11, Maryland made four consecutive shots, including 3-pointers by Scott, Hakim Hart and Jahari Long. Another trey from Donald Carey tied it 29-29 with 52 seconds left before Wisconsin took a 31-29 lead into halftime.
–Field Level Media
