In one final effort to secure the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Spartans traveled out to College Park, Md., to take on the University of Maryland Terrapins Saturday afternoon for the final game of the regular season. It was a back-and-forth battle in the first half, but a last second 3-pointer for the Terrapins gave the Terrapins a 63-60 win over MSU.
With the loss, the Spartans falls to 18-13 overall, 10-8 in conference play and No. 6 in the conference. Despite the loss, MSU is still subject to move up in the final Big Ten standings, depending on what Northwestern does in its next game.
Freshman forward Nick Ward led the way for MSU with a double-double, with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting, accompanied by 16 rebounds.
Through the first half, the Spartans led the Terrapins exchanged the lead 12 times leading into halftime.
MSU brought a 28-27 lead into halftime and held Maryland without a field goal for the final 3:52 of the half. MSU found itself in foul trouble down low in the first half — Ward had two fouls and redshirt-sophomore forward Kenny Goins had three to give Maryland six free throws on eight attempts.
Maryland 4-for-4 from the field in the early stages of the second half, capped off by a 3-point basket by Melo Trimble to open up an eight-point lead with 13:26 to play.
MSU responded, however, and went on a 9-0 run over the next 2:54 to take a 46-45 lead with 10:01 left in regulation.
The Terrapins quickly regained a four-point lead over the Spartans, before two free throws from Ward put MSU within two. A 3-pointer from Jackson on the next possession was neutralized by a second-chance layup from Ward, who tied the game with an and-1 at 58 apiece with 3:46 to play.
Tied at 60 and 6.3 seconds remaining in regulation, Trimble hit a deep 3-point basket to beat the final buzzer and take a 63-60 lead. With 1.1 seconds left in the game, Goins heaved an inbound pass to freshman forward Miles Bridges through traffic. Bridges' shot was missed just short and time expired.
Leading all scorers in the first half, Bridges finished with 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting and four 3-pointers, eight rebounds and two assists. As a team, MSU finished shooting 36.7 percent from the field and eight triples. The Spartans shot 8-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Maryland was led by Trimble with a team-high 16 points. As a team, the Terrapins shot 42.3 percent from the field with eight triples and shot 68.8 percent from the free throw line.
MSU will find out its final seeding as the Big Ten regular season wraps up Sunday.
For final seeding coverage and information on the Big Ten Tournament, stay with The State News as news develops.
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