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Maryland Basketball Ends Losing Streak With Win Over Michigan

By Joe Serpico

Feb 21, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Rasheed Sulaimon (0) and guard Jaylen Brantley (1) celebrate after defeating the Michigan Wolverines 86-82 at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Rasheed Sulaimon (0) and guard Jaylen Brantley (1) celebrate after defeating the Michigan Wolverines 86-82 at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Maryland basketball ended their two-game skid with an 86-82 win over the Michigan Wolverines.

The Maryland Terrapins needed an opponent like Michigan after losing back-to-back games. The Wolverines beat them earlier in the season and have been one of the tougher teams in the Big Ten Conference. There was some good, and some bad, but the Terps walked away with the 86-82 victory to get their 23rd win of the season.

Four starters finished in double figures, led by Robert Carter with 17, as the sixth-ranked Terps rebounded from losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota to stay alive in the race for the Big Ten regular season title.

The Terrapins started the game playing angry. They attacked the Wolverines from the opening tip which has been a problem for Maryland as of late. They jumped out to a 16-point lead early in the first half, highlighted by 14-0 run. It appeared that we were in store for a rout, but Michigan had other things in mind.

Derrick Walton kept the Wolverines in the game with three straight possessions resulting in points, and Mark Donnal hit a three with 3:01 to go in the first half to get the Maryland lead down to five. Everything Donnal put in the air seemed destined to fall. The junior forward shot 10-of-13 for 25 points to lead the Wolverines.

The Terps would take a 41-36 lead into the half, but they were in for a tough second half.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman made his share of plays, tying the game three minutes into the second half. Later in the half, Jake Layman had a terrible sequence of events, handing the ball to Abdur-Rahkman and then fouling him for a three-point play to give Michigan a 73-72 lead.

That is when Carter took control of the game. He started the run with a hustle play by getting an offensive rebound off his own miss to regain the lead 76-75 with 4:50 remaining on the clock. Carter followed that up by attacking the basket for a layup. To put the icing on the cake, Carter slammed home a Layman miss and

The Wolverines had an opportunity to at least tie the game with a late possession, but Derrick Walton was called for an offensive foul with 18 seconds remaining. Duncan Robinson tried to keep it interesting by hitting a three with 6.9 seconds remaining to make it an 84-82 game. Melo Trimble made a pair of free throws and Jaylen Brantley stole the ensuing inbound pass to get Maryland the win.

Next: Terps Not Playing Like Championship Contenders

There are only three games remaining before the start of the Big Ten Conference tournament with a tough road game at Purdue on deck. In order for Maryland basketball to stay in the hunt for top seed in the NCAA Tournament, they need all three and win the Big Ten tournament as well. Everyone who loves the Terps hopes that the gut-wrenching loss to Minnesota was the wake-up call the Terps needed to get going this late in the season.

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