No. 21 Maryland basketball (17-6, 8-4 Big Ten) was looking for the sweep in Madison, Wisconsin against the No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers (16-6, 8-3 Big Ten).
Eric Ayala was on fire in the first half. He was a nearly perfect 5-of-6 from the field with 13 points to lead all scorers.
After Ayala hit a three-pointer to give the Terps a 24-17 lead, the Badgers surged back with the help of Ethan Happ, D’Mitrik Trice, and Brad Davison.
Maryland basketball only led by five at the half, 36-31, after Brevin Pritzl’s three-pointer sent the Badgers into the locker room with momentum.
Bruno Fernando had eight points and four rebounds for the Terps and Happ had nine points and six rebounds for the Badgers.
Foul trouble was a factor in the last matchup, but both teams were able to keep their big men on the floor.
That changed coming out of halftime as Wisconsin took advantage of Maryland inside and drew fouls. A little under four minutes into the second half, both Fernando and Jalen Smith had three fouls apiece.
The game was tied at 40 with 15:43 left after the Wisconsin Badgers jumped out to a 7-0 run.
Maryland basketball grabbed a 48-42 lead and it was gone as soon as Davison and Pritzl tied the game up with two three-pointers.
It always seemed like when the Terps got a good lead; they struggled to keep it. Not just in this game but many other games during the season.
After the Badgers took a 54-52 lead under seven minutes to go, the Terps had a one-point lead for a moment. Like clockwork, the Badgers took it back with a three-pointer, and another basket gave them a 59-55 lead under four minutes to go.
It was anyone’s game at this point.
Nate Reuvers fouled out in crunch time with 3:25 left in the game and Fernando made 1-of-2 free throws cutting the Badgers lead to 59-56.
Wisconsin led by 10, 66-56, on a 12-1 run and they evened the series at one apiece with a final score of 69-61. The Badgers closed the game on a 15-6 run.
Wisconsin won the turnover battle 12-4 and get their fifth straight win. Davison finished with 21 points and four assists. Happ had 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the victory.
Add us as a preferred source on Google