Xavier Johnson's (Nearly) Perfect Night Helps Indiana Beat Maryland, Snap Losing Streak

Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson has been struggling of late, but he snapped out of it in a big way on Thursday night, scoring a season-high 24 points in the Hoosiers' 74-64 win over Maryland.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The game was basically won, and Xavier Johnson's perfect night was a big reason why. Indiana snapped its five-game losing streak with a 74-64 victory over Maryland, with the point guard leading the way with a season-high 24 points.

Johnson was fouled late, with the game already in hand, and he missed his first free throw with 19.5 seconds left. Prior to that, he was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, 3-for-3 from three-point range and, until then, had made his first six free throws.

Perfect? Well, pretty darn close.

"It hurt. I was tired, but that one hurt,'' Johnson said when asked about his one miss of the night. 

Johnson, a transfer from Pitt, has played 110 games in his college career, and this was the first time ever that he had made every shot from the field. It's just the third time ever where he's been perfect from three-point range, with a minimum of three attempts.

So, that, we'll call perfect enough. And it was a bit of a surprise too, because he's been in a real funk lately. He got two early fouls as well, and no backups because fellow point guards Rob Phinisee (foot), Khristian Lander (knee) and Trey Galloway (lower body injury) all missed the game. 

"We needed it because the other point guards were sitting on the sidelines with me,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "Especially getting those two fouls early, I was very pleased.''

The win snapped a distressing five-game losing streak and was the Hoosiers' first win in February. They are 17-10 now, and 8-9 in the Big Ten. The win helped keep their postseason hopes alive, with Sunday's game at Minnesota labeled as a must-win situation as well.

"That was definitely a little weight off our shoulders,'' said senior forward Race Thompson, who had a big night as well, scoring 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting and adding nine rebounds. "We just had to play 40 minutes, not 38 or 39. It definitely feels good to get off that streak.''

Woodson was thrilled for his players, too, because the losing streak has been frustrating. Indiana played well enough to win several of those games, especially the two last week against Wisconsin and Ohio State. 

"Our attitude has been great, even in the five-game skid,'' Woodson said. "You don't take Ohio State to overtime if you're not ready to compete. Our guys are competing, and that's all you can ask for. A play or two in each of those games, and we're not even having this conversation.''

Indiana led wire-to-wire, but traded several runs early with the Terrapins, who are now 13-15 overall and 5-12 in the league. The Hoosiers held them scoreless for seven minutes late in the first half while pulling away 28-18, but then Maryland scored nine straight to get back in it. Indiana led 30-27 at the half, and scored first in the second half to tie it at 30-30.

But then the Hoosiers took off from there, having what might have been their best offensive half of the season, at least from an efficiency standpoint. They were 15-for-20 shooting from the field (75 percent), 3-for-6 from deep and 11-for-14 from the line (78.6 percent). 

Indiana got out on an 8-0 run to go ahead 38-30, and Maryland got no closer than three. Indiana led by as many as 15. Fatts Russell led Maryland with 23 points, including five three-pointers.

What was proven Thursday was that Indiana is a completely different team when Johnson plays at a high level.

"We're definitely going to be hard to beat when he goes like that,'' Thompson said of Johnson.  "He's the head of the snake, he really is. Some people say Trayce, but he's the point guard. When he's playing well, it gets all of us involved.''

Johnson is an emotional player, and poor games can drag him down. Woodson was glad to see him bounce back.

"I think all these young players put pressure on themselves,'' Woodson said. "If they stayed out of the paper and social media, they'd be a lot better. This is the first time we've had a coach/player relationship, and I'm pleased with what he's done this year. He's put in the time and he works.''

Trayce Jackson-Davis had 10 points, dealing with foul trouble much of the night, too. He only played 25 minutes. Miller Kopp had eight points and Parker Stewart finished with five.

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