Maryland men’s basketball fails first test under pressure | TAKEAWAYS

COLLEGE PARK — The dream of many athletes turned into a nightmare for DeShawn Harris-Smith.

With Maryland men’s basketball trailing No. 15 Marquette by just two points Friday night, Harris-Smith had two free throws with 15 seconds left in the second half to tie the score at 76. But the sophomore shooting guard missed both, and senior point guard Stevie Mitchell hit two free throws of his own six seconds remaining to send the Golden Eagles to the 78-74 victory.

Afterwards, Terps coach Kevin Willard dismissed the notion of counseling Harris-Smith out of feeling sorry for himself.

“He’s just got to go up and shoot them again,” he said. “He’s a big boy, he’ll be all right. He’ll be in the gym tomorrow, and he’ll learn, and he’ll keep working at it, and he’ll make the next ones. I have confidence in him. He was out there for a reason. That’s part of sports. You don’t make every game-winning shot, you don’t make every game-winning play. You have to learn from it and get back in the gym and be a big boy.”

Here are three observations from Friday night’s loss to Marquette (4-0).

Free throws proved pivotal

Harris-Smith’s missed free throws were part of a larger picture in which Maryland (3-1) whiffed on four of five trips to the free throw line in the final 2:32. Graduate student small forward Selton Miguel did not convert the front end of a 1-and-1 at the 2:32 mark, and freshman center Derik Queen missed the first of two free throws before making the second with 2:09 to go.

Miguel acknowledged the significance of those lost chances.

“They were really important for us to take the lead or tie the game,” he said. “We’ve got to be more [focused] on the free throw line. Moving forward, we’ve got to step in with confidence and keep working throughout the week.”

Struggles at the free throw line are beginning to emerge as an area of concern. The Terps missed nine free throws in an 86-52 demolition of Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 8 and seven in an 84-53…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/maryland-men-basketball-fails-first-173300561.html

Author : Baltimore Sun

Publish date : 2024-11-16 17:33:00

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