Reese’s 14th double-double leads No. 13 Maryland to win over Northwestern

COLLEGE PARK — In his final time taking the Xfinity Center court, Julian Reese registered his Big Ten-leading 14th double-double to keep Maryland afloat during a sluggish first half and eventually help it pull away from Northwestern, 74-61, on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon.

Maryland honored a group of five seniors, led by Reese, who scored 19 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and was lauded all afternoon from the second sold-out crowd of the season. 

“I was just happy that that he was able to get the ovation that he got, and I was really happy that he played the way he played,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said, “because if he didn’t play as physical as he played, we would have struggled to win this game.”

The Baltimore native endured a coaching change just weeks into his freshman season in 2021, but stayed in College Park and endeared himself to Willard. Reese put his name into the pantheon of Maryland greats in the process and is likely, according to his coach, “maybe one of the last guys to ever spend four years” in a Terrapin uniform.

“My freshman year there was a coaching change,” Reese said. “It wasn’t really a good season. Willard came in second year. We had a little dominant season, my first year getting in the [NCAA] tournament. And then junior year had a mediocre regular season. And now for us to do what we’re doing now is special, and it just means a lot going out like that.”

All of Maryland’s “Crab Five” starting lineup scored in double-digits, including 17 from Ja’Kobi Gillespie, 11 each from Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel, and a 10-point and 10-rebound double-double from Derik Queen. It was Queen’s 12th of the season and seventh in his last eight games.

“I like how solid we’re playing,” Reese said. “We battled adversity early in the season, like I said, we were 1-3, and just staying together like we did. We had a tough stretch. Michigan State had the buzzer beater against us. We stayed together, though. We just, we just stayed a team and stayed a family. That’s what I like most.”

With the win and No. 12 Wisconsin’s loss to Penn State on Saturday, Maryland guaranteed a top three finish in the Big Ten and a double bye in next week’s conference tournament in Indianapolis. The Terrapins (24-7 overall, 14-6 Big Ten) will have six days off before playing Friday night as the second or third seed in the tournament based on the result of Sunday’s game between No. 17 Michigan and No. 8 Michigan State.

“We have not been good coming off byes … I was going to go have a beer. Now I’m going to switch to whiskey,” Willard joked. “So I think, you know, we’re going to take, technically, two days off, but it won’t be a full two days. It’ll be like a day and a half.”

Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli led all scorers with 28 points and seven rebounds. The Big Ten’s second-leading scorer, Martinelli notched 16 in the first half, nearly reaching his average (19.9) by halftime. Ty Berry added 10 as the only other Wildcat in double figures. Northwestern (16-15, 7-13) will still likely clear the bar to get in to the conference tournament barring other results.

“I hope we get a chance to play. It’s not guaranteed,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “I told our guys, you know, we needed to win, to control our own destiny, get to Indianapolis. I think we can compete. I think we’re playing well.”

Maryland got off to a slow start, turning the ball over six times in the first eight minutes. Northwestern capitalized, with Martinelli leading the way in the midrange department, scoring six for an early 15-10 lead.

“He’s not a good matchup for anybody,” Willard said. “That kid’s a warrior. That kid is, if he could ever improve his outside shot just a little bit, he’s unstoppable.”

Reese had eight of Maryland’s first 10 points, while frontcourt mate Queen was held off the score sheet for the first 15 minutes. The star freshman was frustrated enough after earning a foul call on a baseline drive to throw the ball at a Northwestern player, instead earning himself a technical foul.

The foul midway through the half actually helped turn things in the Terrapins favor. Maryland rallied with an 8-0 run courtesy of Reese and Gillespie to surge back and take a 20-19 lead while holding Northwestern to 1-of-9 shooting.

A track meet broke out in the waning moments of the half, with Maryland making six of its final nine shots, Queen scoring 8 points in the final five minutes, and Maryland holding a 32-29 lead at the break despite 11 first half turnovers and an eventual season-high 18.

“The turnovers are a little bit of an issue. They were against Michigan too. I’ve got to figure out how to practice, how to work on our fast break … with only eight guys, because that’s all we have to practice,” Willard said.

After the Terrapins stretched their lead to 37-30 out of the break, Martinelli and his mates proved resilient. The Wildcats ripped off a 6-0 run to take a brief 42-41 lead, with 4 points off of Berry’s right hand. 

The momentary advantage was Northwestern’s first — and only — lead of the second half.

Maryland locked in, responding with a Jordan Geronimo layup and a Gillespie three to go back up 42-46 with 12 minutes to go. That was the start of a 17-6 Terrapins run, punctuated by a Gillespie three and their first double-digit lead, 58-48. The Terrapins built on it from there, closing out the game and the season with a school record-tying 14 Big Ten wins and a 17-2 campaign at home.

“I don’t get any satisfaction over anything,” Willard said of the regular season. “I just feel like I’ve done my job and I need to do my job every year. That’s the way I look at every year.”