NEWARK, N.J. – Maryland men’s basketball evened its record against Big East foes.

Nine days after losing to No. 15 Marquette, the Terps sleptwalked through the first half before mounting a furious comeback in the second and stunning Villanova, 76-75, on Sunday afternoon in the Saatva Empire Classic at the Prudential Center.

Freshman center Derik Queen scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half — including the game-winning free throws — and grabbed 11 rebounds to ignite Maryland’s rally. Junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 10 of his 12 points in the same frame, senior power forward Julian Reese compiled 18 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice chipped in 16 points to help the team forget a 78-74 setback to the Golden Eagles on Nov. 15.“You’ve got to give Nova a lot of credit,” coach Kevin Willard said. “They came out and were more aggressive. I think the Marquette game, I think these guys had to get used to the physicality, and I thought they came out and were more physical, played more physical, created turnovers. I just challenged them to play the way that we practice, which is much more physical, much more aggressive. I thought everybody came out in the second half and did a great job.”

The Terps (5-1) overcame a 14-point deficit in the first half exacerbated by an offense that connected on only 20% (2 of 10) of its 3-point shots in the first half and finished at 31.6% (6 of 19) for the game. Rice (3 of 8) was the only player to find the net from long distance more than once.

Maryland turned the ball over 11 times in the same frame, which the Wildcats converted into 13 points. But the Terps committed just two turnovers in the second half.

“It was just being more physical and everyone getting used to it,” Willard said before pointing out that only Reese and sophomore shooting guard DeShawn Harris-Smith are accustomed to the physical rigors of conferences such as the Big East and Big Ten. “Sometimes you have guys out there, and it’s understanding that when [Reese] and [Queen] want to impose their will on people, they can do whatever they want. It’s just not letting the game go and kind of getting into it right away. When you play against big, physical teams, it’s got to be a little more of a priority.”

But in the second half, Maryland turned to Queen and Gillespie. The Baltimore native and five-star recruit scored eight straight points during a 3:03 stretch that included giving the team the lead, 57-55, for the first time since the score was 5-4 with 16:26 left in the first half.

After Villanova recaptured the lead at 66-63, Gillespie stepped in. The Belmont transfer scored six consecutive points, including a 3-pointer that lifted the Terps into a 69-68 lead with 3:08 remaining.

In the final 75 seconds, the game came down to Queen and Wildcats graduate student power forward Eric Dixon. Dixon, who reached the 20-point threshold for the sixth time in as many starts with a career-best 38 points on 15 of 29 shooting (including 5 of 11 from 3-point range) drained a 3 with 1:15 left to give Villanova a 73-72 lead.

Queen responded with a layup at 0:58, while Dixon answered with a layup at 0:28. But Queen was fouled with 21.7 seconds remaining, and he nailed both free throws to give Maryland the 76-75 lead.

In the final seconds, sophomore guard Tyler Perkins and Dixon missed 3-pointers, and the Terps escaped with the victory.

Queen made 7 of 10 field goals in the second half and dished out a game-high five assists. Gillespie accrued three assists and two steals as Maryland converted 58.6% (17 of 29) of its shots in the second half to storm back.

Queen acknowledged that he had to adjust his demeanor after the first half and credited the coaches for giving him the necessary prodding.

“First, all of the coaches getting on me and me just understanding how they were playing me and slowing down and trying to make the right decision every time,” he said of what changed for him in the second half.

It appeared the Terps had no answers for the 6-foot-8, 265-pound Dixon, who made his presence known early. He scored the game’s first bucket and then eight straight points to key an 11-0 run that lifted the Wildcats to a 15-5 lead with 13:25 left in the first half.

Rice’s 3-pointer at the 13:13 mark snapped a 3:13 drought for the Terps, who got three free throws from Rice 30 seconds later to draw within 15-11. But that would be the closest they got in the first half to Villanova, which continually went to Dixon for offense.

Dixon’s offensive rebound and putback with 3:34 left in the opening frame gave him 20 points and was part of a 9-0 spurt by the Wildcats, who enjoyed their largest advantage of the half at 38-24.

The hope among the team is that the win will prove beneficial for Maryland, which opens Big Ten play against Ohio State (4-1) and No. 6 Purdue (5-1) during the first week of December.

“I feel like it builds confidence within the team,” said Reese, a Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate. “It’s a great win, especially how we came out in the first half. It builds confidence in each other.”

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