Minnesota Gophers fade to Maryland in Big Ten men’s basketball

Ben Johnson was an assistant on the Gophers men’s basketball team the first time the program won at Maryland in 2017.

The fourth-year head coach desperately wanted to be a part of another win in College Park on Monday night after his Gophers arrived on a five-game losing streak to open Big Ten play.

The Gophers gave the Terrapins a scare in the first half, but they had no fight late for freshman Derik Queen in a 77-71 loss at Xfinity Center.

Queen scored a career-high 27 points, including 18 points in the second half.

“Getting comfortable. Getting into a rhythm. Getting off to a good start,” Johnson said on the radio after the game. “But it comes down to we had some empty possessions. We had 16 turnovers and I think they scored 15 points off those turnovers. In a two-possession game, we just have to be able to take better care of the ball.”

Dawson Garcia, who finished with 21 points, scored a layup with five seconds left to make it 75-71 after the Gophers trailed by double digits, but the comeback effort came too late thanks to turnovers and fouls.

Isaac Asuma and Lu’Cye Patterson each finished with 15 points, but the Gophers shot just 35% after halftime and had 11 fouls in the second half.