COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Malik Hall made a driving layup with 1.9 seconds left, and No. 13 Michigan State survived a second-half rally by Maryland to beat the Terrapins 65-63 on Tuesday night.
Hall led the Spartans (17-4, 8-2 Big Ten) with 16 points, and Joey Hauser and Marcus Bingham Jr. had 10 apiece as Michigan State followed a home win over rival Michigan by doing just enough against the underachieving Terps.
Eric Ayala scored 15 points and Donta Scott had 14 for Maryland (11-11, 3-8), which rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to tie the score twice within the final three minutes.
Standout freshman Max Christie was held to seven points for the Spartans, who hadn't won with him scoring in single digits since Dec. 11 against Penn State.
Maryland had a chance to take the lead with less than 30 seconds to go, but Jaden Akins stripped the ball from Fatts Russell on a drive to set up Hall's winning basket.
Bingham made a 3-pointer with 8:09 left, the 7-footer's second of the game and sixth of the season, to put Michigan State ahead 57-50, but the Spartans followed with a nearly five-minute stretch in which their only points came when Maryland’s Qudus Wahab was called for goaltending on a drive by Akins.
Maryland tied it on Russell's 3-pointer with 2:49 to play and again on Scott's two free throws with 2:20 left, but the Terps didn't score again, missing their last three shots.
After a back-and-forth first half, Michigan State appeared to take control with a 17-2 run spanning halftime, but Maryland responded with an 11-0 burst and kept it close the rest of the way.
BIG PICTURE
Maryland has lost four of six and has yet to generate any consistency under interim coach Danny Manning, who took over after Mark Turgeon agreed to step down in early December.
The Terps fell to 2-2 against ranked opponents, with every game thus far at home. The back end of their Terps' Big Ten schedule is more challenging, with games at No. 16 Ohio State and No. 4 Purdue, a visit from Ohio State and a rematch with the Spartans in East Lansing to close the regular season.
Michigan State was predicted to finish sixth in the Big Ten, one spot behind Maryland. But the Spartans' depth and mix of veterans, young players and transfers has Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo's squad in a familiar position: contending for a conference title and a strong NCAA Tournament seeding.
Izzo has substituted freely, with Christie the only player averaging more than 30 minutes per game. He used 11 players on Tuesday night to Maryland's eight. However, the Spartans lacked a go-to scorer in the closing minutes with Christie struggling and Hauser, Bingham and Julius Marble limited by foul trouble.
RIVALRY IN THE MAKING?
The Terps have played the Spartans tough since 2014-15, their first season in the Big Ten. The Spartans improved to 11-8 overall against Maryland and 8-6 in league play. Michigan State lost to the Terps twice last season, including in the Big Ten tournament.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Spartans have hovered between the 10th and 15th spots in the AP Top 25 for the past several weeks. Beating Maryland likely won't change much, but if the Spartans get another road Big Ten win in their next game, against Rutgers, they could move up a spot or two.
UP NEXT
Michigan State: At Rutgers on Saturday.
Maryland: At No. 16 Ohio State on Sunday.
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