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LOS ANGELES — Maryland's Jahmir Young vividly remembers the salty mood in the Xfinity Center locker room last season after UCLA carried out a thorough breakup in a rare meeting between the schools on opposite coasts. In Friday night's rematch, the graduate point guard provided some redemption, almost single-handedly pushing the Terrapins to a 69-60 win at Pauley Pavilion.
Buoyed by a hot first half and major upsets down the stretch, the Upper Marlboro native capped Maryland's first visit to Westwood in more than 40 years with a career-high 37 points. The Terrapins (8-4) extended their winning streak to a season-best four and have won seven of eight games.
Young shot 13 for 19, made 4 of 6 from long range and scored nine straight points in the final minutes, all on a congestion in the painted area, as Maryland avoided the ignominy of nearly a 20-point second half having lost the lead. His three-point play with 1:27 remaining gave Maryland some relief with a 66-58 lead.
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“I went to sleep last night thinking about it [last year’s loss]“I’ve never forgotten that feeling,” Young said. I really just remember that feeling. I didn't want to experience that again, so I just came here and knew we had to get her back. They came to us last year and got us, so we had to do this to them.”
Three-point shooting, a glaring deficiency through the first nine games, has become a strength for the Terrapins, who shot 8-for-22 and limited UCLA to 1-for-13 from distance. The Bruins (5-6) shot 31.5 percent overall and lost their second straight home game after winning 29 straight at Pauley Pavilion.
Maryland held a 15-6 points lead due to turnovers and trailed by just 31 seconds in its final game against a non-conference Power Five opponent of the regular season. It evened its record at 2-2 against the Power Five/Big East, although it didn't get a single point from its bench in front of a smaller crowd than usual with UCLA students over winter break.
“Jahmir has never put up numbers like that since he's been here, but he's always played like that,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “For me, seeing all the hard work I get to do at UCLA is phenomenal.”
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Donta Scott was the only other Terrapins player besides Young to score in double figures, collecting 17 points with six rebounds. Meanwhile, starting center Julian Reese got into foul trouble again, got his fifth point with 5:43 minutes left in the second half and finished the game with one point, his fewest this season.
The Terrapins led 48-28 and 17-17 early in the second half, but then left the court and were unable to score a basket for more than ten minutes. UCLA stormed back and made it 57-55 on Sebastian Mack's stickback with 5:27 to play. But Young steadied Maryland with a jumper and subsequent layup to increase the lead to six with 3:56 left, prompting a Bruins timeout.
“With [Reese] In dire trouble there is only one man we will go to. I thought Jordan [Geronimo] did a great job setting up and getting some screens [Young] “It was open and he did the rest,” Willard said.
A foul-filled first half that ended with the Terrapins leading 43-28 included reserve forward Caelum Swanton-Rodger going to the bench with three touches and Reese doing the same when his second was called with 10:13 left . Maryland had five players with multiple personal fouls at halftime.
However, the Terrapins remained aggressive to the rim, making two three-point plays and adding consecutive three-pointers from Young and Geronimo to build a 26-13 lead. However, Geronimo was eliminated shortly after with a third personal foul, although Maryland was able to maintain a double-digit lead despite being shorthanded.
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The physicality of the first half was highlighted by the teams combining for 28 free throw attempts, with Maryland making 10 of 12. Young had 23 points in the first half.
The Terrapins had been looking forward to the trip to one of the sport's most storied venues after suffering an 87-60 loss to the 11-time national champions in College Park last season, most recently in 1995 when Maryland last played a regular-season game at the West Coast.
UCLA defeated the Terrapins for just their third trip to Pauley Pavilion in school history, their only loss at the Xfinity Center last season when they took a 49-20 halftime lead and forced 16 turnovers. Turnovers remained problematic for Maryland this season, as the team ranked second-to-last in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio and was 10th out of 14 teams in turnovers per game.
The recent focus on ball security has resulted in the Terrapins having just 13 total turnovers in the last two games, despite non-Power Five opponents Alcorn State and Nicholls having a combined record of 5-20. Maryland plays its final nonconference game Thursday night against another non-Power Five school, Coppin State, before resuming Big Ten competition.
The showdown with UCLA came 50 years after the first meeting between the schools on Dec. 1, 1973, when the then-No. 1 Bruins survived 65-64, behind center Bill Walton's 18 points, 27 rebounds and four assists. Walton, who provided analysis during the ESPN2 broadcast on Friday, set the Pauley Pavilion single-game record for rebounds against the Terrapins and then tied for fourth.