Maryland picks the right time to play its best, beats Connecticut to move on

“It’s do-or-die at this point,” Ayala said. “You’ve got to leave it all out there. Empty the tank. I wasn’t ready to go home today.”

After the 10th-seeded Terps held a double-digit lead for nearly the entire second half, the Huskies cut Maryland’s lead to seven points with 5:41 remaining. All season, Maryland has struggled through frequent scoring droughts, and the Terps appeared as though they were about to fall into one of those ruts at the most inopportune time against the seventh-seeded Huskies. But Maryland survived at Mackey Arena, accomplishing the single mission of each game in March.

James Bouknight, Connecticut’s standout guard and a projected lottery pick in the NBA draft, scored on a layup with less than three minutes to go, winnowing Maryland’s lead to 53-48. Ayala, who powered the Terps for much of the evening, made a pair of free throws with 2:36 left to offer some relief. Ayala then grabbed perhaps the night’s most important rebound when Bouknight missed his first free throw on a one-and-one.

“As a basketball player, it’s hard not to take each opportunity as a blessing and understand what’s at stake,” Ayala said. “ … Last year it was taken away from us, and we had a great team last year. So coming into this game, I felt like I owe my effort and my energy and everything to basketball, to just come out here and compete.”

Darryl Morsell, the Terps’ senior leader and defensive maestro, knocked down a pair of shots from the foul line to make the climb back for the Huskies much too steep. Morsell fouled out with 1:50 to go, after recording seven points, seven rebounds and four assists. By then, he had already helped guide the Terps (17-13) to a tournament win that sends them to face No. 2 seed Alabama in the second round Monday.

Without Morsell, the Terps needed to navigate Connecticut’s pressure in the final moments and stay cool from the free throw line. They delivered.

Ayala, the junior guard who has taken significant strides during his time in College Park, had a game-high 23 points and offered the early spark that helped Maryland seize control. He made tough layups, drew fouls and made 3 of 5 attempts from three-point range.

Ayala’s teammates offered meaningful contributions, none more so than Wiggins. The junior continued his late surge, making 4 of 6 shots from behind the arc en route to 14 points. Sophomore forward Donta Scott had his best offensive output since late January with 12 points. When the Huskies cut Maryland’s lead to six points with 1:34 to go, sophomore guard Hakim Hart made a key layup.

Bouknight, who entered the tournament averaging 19 points, had trouble all night dealing with Morsell. Maryland’s leader, recently named the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year, had the primary job of guarding ­Bouknight, who was held to a team-high 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting. Connecticut scored a season-low 54 points.

“We all stuck together,” Coach Mark Turgeon said. “We’ve become incredibly tough-minded and tough physically. And we really lock in on defense. It’s the only chance we have. If we don’t guard, we have no chance.”

Ayala fueled the Terps early, attacking the rim and scoring 14 points during the first 13 minutes. He made four of his first five field goal attempts to help the Terps build an early lead as the Huskies shot just 23.1 percent in the first half. Connecticut (15-8) managed to stay in the game thanks to 18 offensive rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Even though the Huskies’ first nine points were second-chance points, they didn’t capitalize on any of their offensive rebounds in the final 12 minutes of the first half.

Connecticut, one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the tournament, dominated the glass early. Maryland went on a 10-0 run late in the first half before Tyler Polley halted that spurt with a three-pointer. The Terps played the final four minutes before halftime with Ayala on the bench, but Morsell’s three-pointer and Scott’s layup helped maintain the team’s offensive attack. The Terps headed to the locker room with a 33-22 advantage, their first double-digit lead of the night.

Maryland hadn’t earned a double-digit seed in the NCAA tournament since 2009, three years before Turgeon took over as coach. The Terps were narrow underdogs against the Huskies, and the small crowd at Mackey Arena leaned in Connecticut’s favor. Turgeon said he teased his team while in Indianapolis with comments about how the lower seeds have smaller meeting rooms and longer walks to the practice courts.

With Maryland’s game on the second day of the first round, Ayala said he noticed how there were suddenly fewer teams around the hotels and the practice facility. But when the Terps had their turn to play at last, Maryland outperformed its seed and extended its season.

“We’ve kind of overachieved all of our expectations,” Turgeon said, “and continued to do so.”