Final Score: Maryland 76, Villanova 75
 
Went to the Wire: An outstanding first half from Villanova produced a 40-28 halftime lead. But the first 12 minutes of the second half belonged to the Terrapins who reclaimed the lead at 57-55.
 
From there it was a nip and tuck affair to the wire. The game was not settled until a last ditch corner 3-pointer from Eric Dixon – who ended the day with a career-high 38 points – rimmed out, giving Maryland the one point win.
 
"I thought we came out with great fight to start the game," said Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "I thought we were in a great spot. Maryland did a great job in the second half of getting into us and took away some of our momentum. It carried them through the second half. They made some timely shots and some plays at the rim.
 
"In a one possession game they were one possession better than us."
 
Dixon's Day: The graduate student finished the day 15-of29 from the field, including 5-of-11 from distance, for 38 points to go with four rebounds in 36:19.
 
Opening Moments: Dixon got the Wildcats off on the right foot with a short jumper for the game's first points and a Jhamir Brickus 3-pointer from the top of the key gave Villanova a 7-5 lead over the Terrapins after 4:08 of action.
 
Dixon's work, which included a pair of 3-pointers, helped fuel an 11-0 run that put VU on top 15-5. Maryland came back with six consecutive points of its own and was within 18-13 with 11:19 left until halftime. Some more firepower from Dixon – he drained his first four attempts from beyond the 3-point arc – helped Villanova extend its advantage to 27-19 with 7:50 left in the period.  
 
Key Minutes: With Wooga Poplar saddled with two fouls and limited to five first half minutes, the Wildcats needed some contributions from their reserves. One who stepped forward was freshman Josiah Moseley, who logged 10 minutes in the half and contributed two points and three rebounds. His work at the defensive end was important as the Wildcats held Maryland to 11-of-27 shooting for the first 20 minutes (.407).
 
Tyler Perkins also did meaningful work as well, chipping in with five points and four caroms in his 17 minutes of activity.
 
At the offensive end, the story was Dixon, who delivered 22 first half points to help the Wildcats construct a 40-28 edge at intermission. Julian Reese led the Terrapins with 11 points.
 
Terps Start Strong: Maryland opened the second half on an 8-3 run, converting 4-of-5 field goal attempts while limiting Villanova to a Wooga Poplar 3-pointer. At the 17:06 mark, the Wildcats' lead was 43-36. The Terrapins then drained two more buckets, opening the half on a 6-of-7 run from the field but a Dixon basket helped Villanova maintain a 49-40 lead after 4:53 of the second half.
 
Maryland kept pushing, closing to within 52-50 on a Malachi Palmer deep ball. But a step-back 3-pointer from Brickus, nudged the Nova lead to 55-50. That was followed by a nifty deflection and save from Jordan Longino to give VU possession with 11:14 on the second half clock.
 
A Jaylohn Young triple shaved the Wildcats edge to 55-53 midway through the period. Two Maryland free throws tied the game at 55. A fadeaway Derik Queen basket gave Maryland the lead at 57-55 with the clock approaching the eight minute mark.
 
An old-school 3-point play by Dixon put the 'Cats back on top, 60-59.
 
The seesaw continued with Maryland tying the game at 66 on a free throw with 3:37 to play in the second half. A short Dixon jumper put the 'Cats up 68-66 before Maryland answered with a 3-pointer to go back in front 69-68.
 
Up Next: Villanova hosts Rider Wednesday night at Finneran Pavilion at 7 p.m. (FS2 and the Villanova Sports Network on IHeart)