Maryland
One Good Shot Deserves A Great One | Defector
A one-possession NCAA tournament game with seconds on the clock can induce as much dread as anticipation. For as often as situations like these produce iconic buzzer-beaters, they just as often fall victim to college basketball’s inherent jankiness—subpar coaches drawing up doomed sets and skittish players momentarily forgetting which direction their basket is. It’s a blessing to get one great shot out of a scenario like this; on Sunday night, Colorado State and Maryland gave us two.
The teams that successfully navigate these moments tend to be the ones that have a good idea of who they are and what they want to do. After Maryland’s Julian Reese hit two free throws to give his team a 70-68 lead with 22 seconds left, CSU head coach Niko Medved didn’t like what he saw as his team raced up the floor and struggled to get into an offensive set. He called a timeout with 12 seconds left, and while the Rams huddled up, there was no doubt who would be getting the ball on the next possession.
The Rams go as Nique Clifford goes. The 6-foot-6 playmaker who started his college career at the University of Colorado before transferring to CSU waited for his fifth season to become one of the best all-around players in the country. This transformation began in earnest after the new year, which is right around the time that CSU just stopped losing. The Rams came into Sunday’s game on an 11-game winning streak, with Clifford averaging 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists per game.
Clifford, who scored 21 points in the game, beat his defender to the spot on the left wing and received the inbound pass. One jab step and two strong dribbles later, he found himself on the block with a clear view of the floor and Maryland’s defense flowing toward him. A one-handed skip pass to the opposite wing found senior guard Jalen Lake wide open, who splashed one of the prettiest jumpers you’ll see to give CSU a 71-70 lead with 6.1 seconds left. After getting the ball over half court and calling a timeout, it was Maryland’s turn to figure out what the hell to do with 3.7 seconds remaining.
“Give me the motherfucking ball.” That’s the message Maryland head coach Kevin Willard says he received from Derik Queen in the huddle. That’s a bold demand for a freshman to make, but one that was suitable to the moment. Queen, a Baltimore native, was one of the most sought-after high school recruits in the country, and Maryland spent years convincing him to stick close to home and play for the state university. The Terps’ program-building philosophy wasn’t much more complicated than get Derik Queen and the rest will take care of itself, and they were largely proven correct. Queen arrived on campus and transformed a team that went 16-17 last season into a 27-8 monster that was good enough to earn a four seed in the tournament.
So Queen ran out from the baseline and received the inbound pass just beyond the three-point line. This is normally not the place you want your 6-foot-10 center to be receiving the ball on the final possession of the game, but Queen didn’t end up there out of desperation. His greatest gift his his coordination and body control, which is something to which any Big 10 defender who had to deal with Queen facing him up at the free-throw line can attest. Queen turned the corner and took a hard dribble to his left, then another, then a step, and a step, and a step—shut up about traveling!—and suddenly he was hanging in the air, all 245 pounds of him perfectly aligned in time and space, and he kissed a one-legged jumper off the glass and in from an improbably acute angle.
“Well, I mean, so I think I’m from Baltimore, that’s why.” That’s what Queen had to say to Andy Katz on the postgame court when he was asked where he found the confidence to demand the ball in that situation. Later, on the dais in the pressroom, he would tell everyone that this was the first game-winner he had ever hit. (“I wouldn’t have given it to him if I had known that,” Willard chimed in from two seats over.)
There’s another thing that can add a pall of dread to these tournament- and program-defining moments, which is that no matter which way they break, they bring on the future. Maryland survived and advanced, but soon there will be no more games to play and Queen, with braces still in his mouth and only one game-winner under his belt, will be headed for the NBA. Maryland will have ultimately spent more time recruiting Queen than counting him as a member of the team, and their ability to remain a force in the Big 10 will come down how quickly the can find the next Derik Queen.
Clifford’s leaving, too, which puts CSU back in the same spot it always finds itself in, as a plucky mid-major scouring the transfer portal for overlooked players that can be poached from bigger conferences and developed into Mountain West stars. There’s more than one way to build a successful program, and to engineer a legendary shot. You hold onto those moments as long as you can, and then you start over.
TIMONIUM, Md. — Get ready for some family fun as the 145th Maryland State Fair is set to get underway this summer.
The fair will be open for three weekends: Thursday, August 27 to Sunday, August 30; Thursday, September 3 to Monday, September 7; and Thursday, September 10 to Sunday, September 13.
There will be multiple patriotic-themed competitions, prizes, strolling entertainers, a veteran’s showcase, and more in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
Admission will not be allowed after 9 p.m., and anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult aged 21 or older.
The fair hours are as follows:
Thursdays:
- Building Hours: 5 p.m.–8 p.m.
- Exhibition Hall: 5 p.m.–9 p.m.
- Midway Hours: 5 p.m. to close
Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays & Labor Day Monday:
- Building Hours: 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
- Exhibition Hall Hours: 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
- Midway Hours: 10 a.m. to close
For more information about the fair and the schedule of events, click here.
LAUREL, Md. (7News) — Police in Laurel, Maryland, are investigating two violent incidents that left five people injured near a busy shopping area.
According to the Laurel Police Department, three people were shot and taken to local hospitals for treatment. Their conditions have not been released.
Laurel Police Department officers investigate a series of incidents near the Laurel Shopping Center in Laurel, Md. on May 6, 2026. (Noel Chavez/7News)
Officers also responded to a separate location in the same area for a stabbing, where two additional victims were injured and taken to the hospital.
SEE ALSO | Woman arrested after man stabbed in Rockville
Police said the incidents happened in the same area near the Laurel Shopping Center, along the 13600 block of Baltimore Avenue, close to a steakhouse and Amigos Restaurant.
Laurel Police Department officers investigate a series of incidents near the Laurel Shopping Center in Laurel, Md. on May 6, 2026. (Noel Chavez/7News)
Officials said it is not yet clear whether the shooting and stabbing are connected.
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed either incident or has information to contact the Laurel Police Department at 301-498-0092 or submit tips anonymously by email.
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Authorities said more details will be released as the investigation continues.
Apple Towson employees. Credit: IAMAW
Maryland lawmakers have penned a delegation letter to Apple, asking the tech giant to ask if there were any other paths forward other than closing Apple Towson.
Apple’s battle with its Towson location continues, with Maryland lawmakers stepping in to “express serious concern” over Apple’s choice to close the store. On May 4, lawmakers penned a congressional delegation to Apple, which reads:
“We urge Apple to reconsider whether there are viable paths forward that would preserve jobs and maintain a retail presence in the region,” said the signing members in a letter to Apple.
“Maryland residents value employers who invest in their workforce and demonstrate a sustained commitment to the communities they serve,” the lawmakers said. “We stand ready to engage constructively with Apple to better understand this decision and to explore potential solutions.”
Lawmakers are asking Apple to explain the factors that led to the closure and what research it did on how the closure would affect the employees. It also wants to know what Apple plans to do to help employees who will soon lose their jobs.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Union, along with Towson employees, has thanked lawmakers standing with workers.
What led to the charge in the first place
Apple recently announced that it would be closing three of its stores, Apple Trumbull, Apple North County, and Apple Towson. The Towson location was Apple’s first unionized store.
For its part, Apple cited declining conditions and the loss of retailers as the primary reasons for closing. But Towson employees, as well as the IAM Union, don’t think that’s the whole story.
That’s why in late April, IAM filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against Apple. The union has suggested that the closure was retaliatory in nature.
However, the charge isn’t centered around the closing, but rather what happens next.
It claims that Apple unlawfully discriminated against unionized workers, denying them the same job placement rights that the non-unionized stores would receive. Trumbull and North County employees had the option to transfer to other locations.
Towson employees, on the other hand, were invited to apply for open roles at other stores, the same as any other non-employee seeking employment.
Apple would later go on to say that Towson’s union accepted specific rules for rehire under closure. If Apple were to open a new store within 50 miles, Towson would have right of refusal. Otherwise, Apple claims, the employees are to get severance pay only.
Apple’s history with Towson
While it’s not likely that Apple closed the store solely because of the union, it doesn’t mean that Apple didn’t reap the benefits, either. Apple hasn’t hidden the fact that it wants workers to avoid unionization.
The company had went out of its way to ensure that unionized stores didn’t receive benefits it conveniently rolled out while it stalled contract negotiations. Apple’s own retail chief Deirdre O’Brien had released a video directly telling employees that unionization was a net negative, and encouraged workers to seek in-house solutions.
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