Terps Rally to Down Mountaineers in Overtime

Sunday, October 18

College Park, Md.

3 p.m.

West Virginia University

0-0,0-0Big 12

90 OT

Maryland (exhibition)

0-0,0-0Big Ten

Team	1	2	OT 1	F
West Virginia	46	29	6	81
Maryland	31	44	15	90

West Virginia lost an exhibition basketball game in overtime 90-81 to Maryland a XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland, on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.

Photo by: Submitted photo

October 18, 2026 07:38 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: John Antonik

Maryland used a second-half rally and 15 points in overtime to defeat West Virginia 90-81 in an exhibition basketball game Sunday afternoon at the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland.

The Terps got a game-high 27 points from Andre Mills and a 26-point, 13-rebound, double-double from Pharrel Payne to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit.

"I think you have to give Payne and Mills a lot of credit, and that's what you would anticipate early in the year because those guys have been with (Maryland coach) Buzz (Williams) for a long time and that was the difference in the game - their physicality and their ability to get the ball near the basket," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said afterward.

Maryland held West Virginia scoreless over a five-minute stretch early in the second half and eventually took a 57-56 lead on Mike McNair Jr.'s 3 with 10:25 remaining. The Terps led by as many as five, 75-70, with 2:38 left, but the Mountaineers got a 3 from Finley Bizjack and a Brenen Lorient dunk with 12 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

In the extra session, Miller quickly put Maryland on top with a 3 and did not allow the Mountaineers to make a field goal during the extra session. All six points of West Virginia's points in overtime came from the free throw line.

"It was a very clear visual that when you do the things necessary to win, you have success, and when you don't, you won't," Hodge said. "We had just one turnover at halftime and were up 15, and then 13 turnovers in the second half and overtime combined that were just careless and a lack of execution."

The Terps, which limited West Virginia to 39.1% from the floor, were playing their second exhibition game of the year. Last week, Maryland downed Georgia Tech 85-70.

McNair contributed 15 points and Kaden House came off the bench to add 10 for Williams, coaching his second season at Maryland.

Bizjack led West Virginia with 25 points - 15 of those coming from 3-point distance on 5 of 8 shooting from behind the arc. Freshman point guard Miles Sadler scored 16 points before fouling out in overtime, while Martin Sommerville and Seydou Traore tallied 13 points each coming off the bench.

Maryland had a 48 to 36 advantage on the glass, including grabbing 24 offensive rebounds.

"The whole second half, we were unable to establish an offensive identity or flow because we were consistently taking the ball out of the net or the ball was rattling around because we couldn't get enough clean defensive rebounds," Hodge said. "The separator was their ability to get the ball close to the basket and our inability to do the same thing. That was the difference in the game."

West Virginia will have two more preseason tuneups playing at Glenville State next Friday night at 7 p.m. and then facing Wheeling at Hope Coliseum on Wednesday, Oct. 28 before opening the regular season against Niagara on Monday, Nov. 2.

Tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.