COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Despite all the basketball Mackenzie Mgbako has played in his life, he’d never had a four-point play.
During a second-half run against Maryland, Xavier Johnson shoveled a pass over to the freshman near the corner in front of the IU bench. Terps forward Julian Reese knocked Mgbako down during his follow-through, and the shot fell. The New Jersey native yelled from the ground as his teammates swarmed him going into a media timeout.
That was Indiana’s 10th straight made field goal, during a streak that reached 12. And it cut Maryland’s lead to just three points — which became two after Mgbako made the ensuing foul shot.
It was a palpably exciting moment for the Hoosiers, who surged ahead less than three minutes later. And when Mgbako gets hyped up in the heat of a big moment, things can get dicey for him.
“I was like really excited. When I get excited, I throw up sometimes,” Mgbako said while smiling. “So that’s what happened.”
The freshman puked on the sideline around 10 minutes (in real time, not game time) after the four-point play. An IU manager recalled frantically getting him a water bottle.
While there may not have been a true turning point at Xfinity Center on Sunday, that moment was when the second-half turnaround began to feel like it could bear fruit. It was a highlight of Indiana’s dominant second half, en route to a comeback 83-78 win over Maryland.
“We just played team basketball,” Johnson said. “Once we got rolling, we just kept going.”
Mgbako was a big reason for the turnaround. Indiana (16-13, 8-10 Big Ten) trailed by 10 points at halftime despite shooting well from the free-throw line (4 for 4) and 3-point range (5 for 11). IU’s turnovers and poor defense allowed Maryland (15-15, 7-12) to take control of the game in the first half.
IU head coach Mike Woodson and his staff emphasized defense in the halftime locker room, and the Hoosiers responded. But after shooting 2 for 7 from the field in the first half, Mgbako came out and dominated in the second half. After missing his first 3-pointer after halftime, the freshman made five consecutive field-goal attempts during IU’s big push. He held his own defensively, and didn’t let any misfires shake his confidence.
Mgbako racked up 20 points in the second half, when he played all 20 minutes. He finished with a career-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including a 4-for-8 mark from 3-point range.
“I think he played an overall great game,” Johnson said. “He shot the ball, he took his chances. He was in the right spots at the right times. We trust him to make a shot.”
Indiana’s entire original starting five from the beginning of this season proved to be difference-makers in this game.
Malik Reneau, even while battling through an injury suffered midway through the first half, caused a lot of problems for the Terps in that opening half. His effort, with nine points in the half, helped prevent Indiana from facing an even larger deficit in the second half.
Kel’el Ware had nothing working in the first half, aside from five rebounds. He just struggled to impact the game as IU fell behind. But he settled in during the second half, and still nearly finished with a double-double. By the end of the game, he looked more like the player he’s been throughout most of the season.
Trey Galloway made some tough plays for the Hoosiers in some big spots. He turned in a solid defensive effort, and chipped in 10 second-half points.
And Johnson, particularly, stood out, on both ends. He felt this was the best game he and Galloway have played as a backcourt duo.
Johnson came off the bench, but Woodson realized early in the second half that he had to lean on the sixth-year. This was a meaningful contest for Johnson — it was his last game close to home in Woodbridge, Va., and he had 16 family members in attendance. And his effort reflected that.
The guard was at his best Sunday, playing strong defense, knocking down shots, and giving the Hoosiers some real juice in transition. He shot 5 for 7 for 13 points, with six assists to just one turnover, along with three rebounds and a steal.
Mgbako was rendered momentarily speechless trying to sum up Johnson’s performance.
“I can’t even explain it,” Mgbako said. “He’s so great at what he does, being able to move the ball in transition and get downhill at amazing pace and finding players for the open shot.”
While this wasn’t a perfect performance by Indiana, given the first half, it was one of its strongest of the season. The Hoosiers bucked some of their strongest team trends by shooting 7 for 16 from 3-point range and 14 for 17 at the foul line — the latter a season-high percentage.
And it was another example of one of this group’s best traits. The Hoosiers have flaws, but they’ve shown fight in so many games this year, even when facing a big deficit.
This wasn’t Indiana’s first double-digit comeback victory this season — it erased an 18-point deficit to win at Ohio State in early February. IU’s biggest deficit Sunday was 16 points.
So the Hoosiers already knew they’re able to finish the job in these sorts of games. They just need to sustain the second-half spurts long enough to make them count.
It’s most likely still too little, too late to mean anything in this season’s big picture. But every time Indiana’s resolve pays off with a win, it makes the outlook a little less dreary for a potentially positive end to the year.
“The past couple games from before, we weren’t able to get over the hump, because we would cut the lead, and then we’ll go right back to what we were doing to lose the game,” Johnson said. “This game, we had to raise our level. We had to raise our bar. With us coming back, we wanted to win. Everybody wanted to win, and everybody raised their bar.”
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