Maryland Thumps Jackson State 76-45
Maryland beat Jackson State 76-45 on Monday, just two days after their near-loss at the hands of the Bucknell Bison. Maryland likely would have been ranked in this week’s AP poll had they not needed a furious second half comeback in that game to escape with a 2-point win. They were not, and as a result came out angry tonight and beat bad teams like they should.
Highlights:
The game was close until midway through the first half. Maryland was only up 17-16 after 4 turnovers in 4 minutes and a 6-0 run from Jackson St. from there, the Terps stepped on the gas and never looked back, finishing the rest of the game outscoring the Tigers 59-29.
Maryland was paced by Bruno Fernando who scored 18 with 6 boards. If he can continue to dominate in the post, the Terps will continue to win games, simple as that. Justin Jackson found his shooting form, making 3 3-pointers, more than he had all season to this point. He still need to get into the paint more where his versatile athleticism will lead to more scoring opportunities.
Jared Nickens was much maligned the past couple years, as he seemingly couldn’t shoot his way out of a wet paper bag. As a shooting specialist, that didn’t bode well for his standing on the team. However he showed flashed of what we thought he’d be after a stellar freshman season against the Tigers, hitting 4 3’s en route to his season-high 14 points. Having positive contributions from Nickens off the bench would really be impactful for a Terps team that’s already loaded at the bench positions.
Freshman guard Darrell Morsell strained his hamstring in the first half and is day-to-day.
Maryland heads to Florida this weekend to play in the Emerald Coast Classic. They open up Friday against Saint Bonaventure and play the corresponding winner/loser of the TCU-New Mexico tilt on Saturday.
