Frustrations boil over in Purdue basketball's loss at Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland − Purdue reached its boiling point.

That's not a pun on the school mascot, but rather an accumulation of things that transpired at the Xfinity Center Thursday.

Mainly one thing.

Frustration about the way games have been officiated.

When Mason Gillis was whistled for a foul trying to grab a loose ball rebound early in the second half at Maryland, those frustrations were let loose.

Bam.

Technical foul.

Momentum changer.

From a six-point lead to a 17-point deficit in a span of 8:05.

More:Purdue basketball collapses in second half at Maryland, losing third straight road game

"It definitely changed the momentum," Gillis said. "I just have to do a better job of controlling my emotions. I shouldn’t let something, good call, bad call, let that get the best of me, no matter what the situation is."

At the time, it seemed somewhat harmless.

Jahmir Young went to the line and made two technical foul shots, but Purdue still led by four.

But that moment took a crowd that had been silenced to one raging with angst as the Terrapins did the improbable.

They played tougher than Purdue, which is what the Boilermakers hang their hard hat on.

"You just think that’s not that big a deal. It’s two points," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "They shoot free throws. That’s when the momentum swung right there."

Life on the road in the Big Ten is tough.

Nobody is questioning that.

But this is the second game in a row, including Sunday's loss at Northwestern, that Purdue didn't handle adversity well and in a season where everything seemed to go right until a couple weeks ago, things are suddenly going wrong.

Had Purdue lost at Maryland, at Northwestern and at Indiana and those three road games weren't within a span of 12 days - all resulting in a court storming by the home team's students - this perhaps doesn't look so bad. Maybe fans don't think the sky is falling.

But Purdue was 22-1 and the unanimous No. 1 team in the country and now the Boilermakers have lost three times in their last four games.

It's frustrating.

And in a moment of irritability, Gillis briefly lost control of his emotions.

But Purdue compounded that by not handling the situation well as a unit.

"That was a huge part of the game where we needed to lock in and we didn’t get the stops we need," said center Zach Edey, who showed his own frustrations by what he didn't say more than what he did following the Northwestern loss. "We didn’t get the possessions we needed. … We just didn’t handle it the way we should have."

Maybe Gillis needed to get that frustration out of his system.

Perhaps Purdue needed to have its butts kicked because in its three losses prior to Thursday, the Boilermakers had lost by a combined 12 points. Then Maryland turned a halftime deficit into a 14-point win.

Purdue is good enough to win any night against any opponent.

Next month, though, one loss means your season is over. If Purdue can shake its instabilities now, rather than in the NCAA tournament, this stretch of games will be forgotten.

"Everybody goes through battles," Gillis said. "Everybody has to win against us and we’re physical. Everybody else in the Big Ten is physical. To be the best, you have to play the best. That’s what we want. That’s what we’re here for."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Frustrations boil over in Purdue basketball's loss at Maryland