Maryland Rocks Mount Saint Mary’s 79-61
It was difficult terrain today as the Maryland Terrapins used its bench to climb over the Mountaineers of Mount Saint Mary’s 79-61. The Terrapins got off to a slow start while Jalen Gibbs of Mount Saint Mary’s ascended his team to an early lead anchoring the Mountaineers offense with 12 points in the first 10 minutes which gave the Northeast Conference Mountaineers early confidence against their Big 10 opponents. Mount Saint Mary’s were anxious to shake off their 73-67 loss to Navy just 24 hours prior to today’s tip-off and found itself within reach of victory until the final minutes of the game.
The lead started to slip away as Maryland’s junior guard Eric Ayala pushed the pace of the Terps towards the end of the first half. The Mount were unable to maintain their grip as Maryland found their footing and ended the half with a nine point lead 41- 32.
While Mount Saint Mary’s were eventually toppled by the Terps 79 – 61, the victory did not come easy as the scoreboard suggests. Coach Mark Turgeon (10thseason) needed to get his team dialed in after several rocky moments in the game and reached to utilized their team depth to outlast Mount Saint Mary’s. The Mountaineers legs seemed to give out late and despite their best efforts to hold onto momentum, Maryland was just too much late in the game.
Once again, Gibbs along with juniors Damian Chong Qui and Malik Jefferson tried to find a plan B and rally the Mount to its first ever victory against Maryland, including propelling itself to a 2 point lead with less than nine minutes left in the game. However, the north face of the Xfinity center and Maryland’s depth proved to be too difficult of a climb as the Terps managed a 21-0 run with less than three minutes remaining in the game.
The story of the game was Maryland’s battle to regain their footing after discovering adversity for the first time this season. It was a full team effort as Maryland used its zone defense to create opportunities on offense with eight players scoring points for the Terps. The majority of reports will understandably mention Ayala, Wiggins and Morsell as the guides to today’s victory. However, Donta Scott, Hakim Hart, Jairus Hamilton and Galin Smith were the safety harnesses to cling to the win as the Terps bench outscored Mount Saint Mary’s 40-2.
Maryland will continue its season’s journey this Tuesday against the Towson Tigers. This game was originally scheduled against Monmouth, however safety concerns allowed for the late switch in schedule. The game tips off 7:00 p.m. at Xfinity Center.
