Maryland beats Colorado State, 72-71, on Derik Queen’s buzzer-beater

SEATTLE — Maryland men’s basketball’s return to College Park will be delayed for a little bit. And that’s a good sign.

Derik Queen’s running buzzer-beating bank shot allowed the No. 4 seed Terps to remain on the West Coast after edging No. 12 seed Colorado State, 72-71, in an NCAA Tournament second-round game Sunday evening at Climate Pledge Arena.

Instead of flying back east, Maryland (27-8) will travel to San Francisco to participate in its first Sweet 16 since 2016. The team will meet No. 1 seed Florida at Chase Center on Thursday at a time to be announced after the Gators (32-4) evicted two-time reigning national champion Connecticut, 77-75, earlier in the day.

Staying in the Pacific time zone is nothing new for the Terps. They carried out a similar strategy in 2001 when that squad defeated George Mason and Georgia State in Boise, Idaho, before flying to Anaheim, Calif., where they disposed of Georgetown and Stanford before falling to Duke in its first Final Four appearance.

Maryland collected its sixth victory in the past seven games and earned a berth in the third round for the first time in coach Kevin Willard’s three-year tenure.

Queen, the freshman center from Baltimore, amassed a team-high 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks to lead the team. Sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half and grabbed four rebounds, and senior power forward Julian Reese got his 15th double-double of the season on 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and graduate student small forward Selton Miguel scored 11 points each. Gillespie compiled seven assists, four steals and three rebounds, while Miguel added two rebounds.

Playing in the second round for the first time since 2013, the Rams (26-10) missed their first Sweet 16 berth since 1969 and second overall. They fell one win short of matching the program record for victories in a single season and watched an 11-game winning streak end.

Fifth-year senior shooting guard Nique Clifford lived up to the hype by scoring a game-best 21 points and accruing seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Senior shooting guard Jalen Lake had 13 points and two rebounds.

Trailing 37-30 at halftime, the Terps opened the second half by connecting on three of their first four 3-point attempts — two by Rice and one by Gillespie — to narrow the gap. Five consecutive points by Rice in 24 seconds, including a 3-point play, gave them a 49-47 lead with 13:39 to go — the team’s first since 8-6 with 17:25 left in the first half.

But Colorado State responded with a 7-3 spurt capped by four straight points by graduate student guard Bowen Born for a 54-52 lead. After a media timeout, Miguel nailed a 3-pointer, stole the ball, and slammed home a dunk to return the advantage to Maryland at 57-54 with 11:11 remaining.

The Rams refused to wilt. They scored six straight points in a 2:02 span for a 60-57 lead. But the Terps went on an 11-8 burst for a 68-68 tie.

Two free throws by Reese with 22 seconds to go gave Maryland a 70-68 lead. Colorado State promptly regained the lead on Lake’s 3-pointer with six seconds remaining. That set up Queen’s drive down the left side of the paint and high shot off the glass that touched off a raucous celebration.

Unlike Friday’s 81-49 romp over No. 13 seed Grand Canyon in first-round action when Maryland dug out of an early 7-2 hole, the team labored in the first half against Colorado State. After assuming an 8-6 lead on Queen’s second 3-pointer in as many attempts just 2:35 into the opening frame, the Terps went 4:12 without a point.

That opened the door for the Rams to score eight unanswered points in a 3:24 span to take a 14-8 lead. Even after fifth-year senior small forward Jordan Geronimo ended Maryland’s drought with an emphatic alley-oop dunk, Colorado State ran off another eight points for a 22-10 advantage with 10:29 remaining.

A layup and jumper by Queen kicked off a 16-4 burst for the Terps, who capitalized on a 3:28 rut by the Rams. An offensive rebound and putback by Reese drew Maryland within 28-26 with 4:22 to go.

But the offense slipped into another drought — 3:07 this time — and Colorado State closed out the final 4:02 on a 9-4 spurt to enjoy a 37-30 lead at halftime.

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