By Pat Harty

Jahmir Young and his Maryland teammates did it again.

They erased a second-half deficit to hand the Iowa men’s basketball team another costly and deflating loss.

Young scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half as Maryland completed the season sweep against Iowa with a 78-66 victory on Wednesday at the Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland.

Iowa only scored eight points in the final 10 minutes of the second half, and was just 1-of-9 from 3-point range in the second half.

Young, who averages more than 20 points per game, was held to six points in the first half on 2-of-7 shooting from the field.

His performance in the first half of Wednesday’s game was much like the first game against Iowa on Jan. 24 in Iowa City when he only scored five points in the first half.

But in the first game, Young also caught fire in the second half as he scored 17 of his 22 points and he also made the game-winning basket in the final seconds of a 69-67 victory.

So, it was reasonable to assume that Young would be more aggressive on offense in the second half of Wednesday’s game, and that would prove to be the case as he sparked the comeback down the stretch.

He only shot 4-of-13 from the field, but he compensated by making all 13 of his free throws.

Forward Julian Reese made two free throws to give Maryland a 62-60 lead with 6 minutes, 57 seconds left to play. It marked the first time that Maryland had led since making the game’s first basket for a 2-0 lead.

Maryland never trailed again.

The Terps only committed three turnovers in the second half, and picked up the intensity on defense, which is its strength, and Iowa didn’t have an answer.

Iowa falls to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in Big Ten play, while Maryland improves to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in Big Ten play.

Should Iowa fail to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five seasons, getting swept by Maryland would certainly be part of the reason.

Junior forward Payton Sandfort led Iowa with 19 points , but he only scored six points in the second half.

Graduate transfer Ben Krikke was the only other player for Iowa to score in double figures with 11.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery was asked in his post-game press conference if Maryland did anything defensively in the second half to limit Payton Sandfort. McCaffery’s answer would seem to indicate that he wasn’t pleased with the officiating.

“You really want me to answer that question,” Fran McCaffery said.

“Sure,” the reporter said in response.

“Well, if I answer the question, obviously, I’ll be fined.”

It was also a frustrating night for Iowa senior guard Tony Perkins, who was held to just nine points before fouling out late in the game.

Perkins was called for a technical foul in the closing seconds after he apparently said something that an official didn’t like.

Iowa had a stretch for over four minutes in the second half in which it failed to score.

Maryland kept chipping away at the lead and then pulled away down the stretch.

Iowa led by as many as 11 points in the first half, and for all but 52 seconds, but the Terrapins chipped away at the deficit and only trailed by six points (37-31) at halftime.

Iowa’ was leading 35-31 when Patrick McCaffery made a basket right before the halftime buzzer.

Payton Sandfort led Iowa with 13 points in the first half as he made three of his four shots from 3-point range.

Patrick McCaffery and Ben Krikke both scored seven points in the first half.

Maryland only made 2-of-13 shots from 3-point range in the first half and had eight turnovers.

Iowa had a 14-6 advantage in points off turnovers in the first half, but then only forced three turnovers in the second half.

Maryland also had a 37-29 advantage on the boards, and held Iowa freshman forward Owen Freeman to just five points.

This was a game that Iowa let slip away, and it could prove costly.

Iowa does return home to face Wisconsin on Saturday, and one thing is certain; even in this age of the transfer portal, Jahmir Young will not be playing for the Badgers.

So, there’s some good news.