Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Tre Holloman deked a defender, dribbled forward, launched a 65-foot heave and watched it slip through the net as the final buzzer sounded, leading Michigan State to a thrilling last-second win over Maryland.
Holloman drained the long-distance dagger from well beyond half court to give the No. 8 Spartans the improbable 58-55 victory over the No. 16 Terrapins on Wednesday at XFINITY Center in College Park, Md.
"I saw the rim and the shot clock going down so I had to throw it up," Holloman said on the Big Ten Network broadcast.
"We practice those. I just got it up and it went in."
Holloman, a junior guard, scored nine points off the Spartans bench. He made just 3 of 12 shot attempts. Freshman guard Jase Richardson led the Spartans with 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Spartans (23-5) made just 33.8% of their shots, including 4 of 15 from 3-point range. But the Terrapins (21-7) struggled even more, hitting 31.3% of their shots and 4 of 20 3-point attempts.
The Spartans held a 45-33 edge in rebounding and 28-16 advantage in points in the paint. Holloman and the Spartans bench outscored the Terrapins bench 23-0. All 10 Spartans players scored.
The game featured seven lead changes and was tied 10 times.
"If any of y'all didn't see a rock fight, you saw one [Wednesday]," Spartans coach Tom Izzo told reporters. "I'm not sure either coach was happy with the performance in the first half. ... We made a couple of bonehead plays, but I thought we deserved to win the game.
"I don't think it was a lucky shot at the end. I thought we played inspired basketball."
The Spartans opened the game with a 7-2 run and led 11-10 through the first five minutes. Both teams then struggled to hit shots, resulting in a scoring drought of more than three minutes. The lead changed hands several times over the final minutes of the first half, with the Terrapins carrying a 23-21 edge into the second.
Neither team found the basket over the next 2:10. Richardson and the Spartans went on to heat up, using a 10-2 run for a 52-43 lead with 5:24 remaining. But the Terrapins rallied with a 12-3 surge over the final minutes, tying the score at 55-55 with 42 seconds remaining.
Junior forward Jaxon Kohler missed a go-ahead layup attempt on the Spartans' next possession. Junior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie also missed a 3-point attempt on the resulting possession, keeping the game tied.
Kohler grabbed the rebound after the Gillespie misfire and quickly handed off to Holloman. The junior guard moved the ball around defenders, took one dribble and flicked his prayer toward the rim, shocking the XFINITY Center crowd.
"I don't know what to say about my team," Izzo said. "We're gritty. We keep on fighting, yet we've gotta get better offensively in some areas if we're gonna really make some noise."
The Spartans will host the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers (22-6) at 1:30 p.m. EST Sunday in East Lansing. The Terrapins will battle the Penn State Nittany Lions (15-14) at noon Saturday in State College, Pa.
