Maryland men’s basketball comes from behind to beat West Virginia, 90-81, in overtime exhibition

Pharrel Payne’s return to the Xfinity Center hardware could not have gone any better. After suffering a season-ending injury on the same court 309 days prior, Payne didn’t skip a beat in Maryland men’s basketball’s second exhibition game against West Virginia.

The star big man totaled the Terps’ first six points in the second half, hoping to will his team back from a 15-point halftime deficit. He did just that, as Payne was Maryland’s offense for large portions Sunday.

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Payne poured in 26 points and added a game-high 13 rebounds. The Terps’ returners, also fueled by Andre Mills’ 27-point performance, led Maryland to a 90-81 overtime victory over West Virginia.

Even despite Payne’s effort, the Mountaineers didn’t go away. They clawed back to tie the game at 75 with 12 seconds remaining. After the timeout, Mills got downhill but was met at the rim. West Virginia couldn’t convert on their final attempt of regulation.

But Mills continued to shine in overtime, scoring six points to help the Terps pull away. His effort in the extra period followed Payne’s takeover.

Payne dominated the paint in the second half. He collected four early points from under the rim to start Maryland’s comeback. The redshirt senior totaled 10 points during the Terps’ 18-4 run in the opening six minutes of the second half, with Mills adding six.

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The Terps, who struggled to get stops in the first half, frequently looked to get out in transition. West Virginia had no answers, struggling to generate any offense itself.

While Maryland’s defensive effort was drastically improved — it allowed the Mountaineers to only score 12 points in the 13-minute span to start the second half — the ball movement was noticeably different. Extra passes helped locate Mike McNair Jr. for a pair of 3-pointers in just 44 seconds to give the Terps a 59-56 lead at the 9:53 mark.

McNair, who was fifth in the country last season with a 44.35% 3-point percentage, has been lethal from deep in the two exhibition…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/maryland-men-basketball-comes-behind-215559477.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-18 21:55:00

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