Terps Annihilate UMES by 53
Maryland starts off the young season at 2-0, winning 96-43 against UMES. A lot of great things shown by the Terrapins in this game.
Anthony Cowan Jr. led the way for the Terps with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Jared Nickens had a huge bounce back game after not scoring against Stony Brook, going 4-4 from three and finishing with 15 points off the bench. Dion Wiley again had a solid game with 13 off the bench, and the resurrection of Wiley gives Maryland extra help at guard depth and gives them another go-to scorer off the bench. Darryl Morsell finished with 12 and Kevin Huerter scored in double figures with 10 as well. Sean Obi only played 8 minutes in the game, didn’t step on the floor in the first half, and still gave Maryland 6 rebounds, 5 being on the offensive glass.
Maryland started the 3 sophomore stars and senior Michal Cekovsky again, but Mark Turgeon went with Bruno Fernando instead of Ivan Bender tonight. Fernando showed signs of fatigue which is understandable, still recovering from his ankle that kept him out for a couple weeks.
Key takeaways from the win:
- Maryland’s offense is not all about the threes and isolation. The Terps in the first two games have looked to score down low first, instead of launching a long ball right off the bat. Justin Jackson, Cekovsky, and Fernando have a chance to do big things this year for Maryland on the offensive end. The best part being that none of them shy away from contact, and look to score instead of immediately kicking it out, forcing a guard to make a play. When they do move it back outside however, the Terrapin guards are ready to shoot.
- Balanced scoring. Without Melo Trimble, no one knew who would be Maryland’s go-to guy. This year, instead of Melo having to make a play on every possession, Cowan Jr., Huerter, and Jackson are all sharing the load. Morsell and Wiley seem to be the Terps main guys off the bench, and if Nickens can play consistently, they have three guys off the bench that can drop double figures. Fernando also brings a sort of physicality to the Terps big men, which leads to a big block or big dunk that sways the momentum in the Terps favor.
- Maryland finally rebounds the basketball. Obi is a perfect example of this for the Terps. As mentioned before, Obi played only 8 minutes and still was able to rack up 6 boards. Ceko is over 7-foot, and is finally battling down low for rebounds. Fernando plays big which allows him to go up and get the boards. Justin Jackson has done a great job on the glass this year, including his 14 total rebounds against Stony Brook. And finally, Cowan Jr. and Huerter rebound very well for being guards. Things look to be on the rise for the Terrapins, and the fundamentals are a key piece in success.
Maryland walk-on Travis Valmon also tallied 4 points, a new career high for the guard. Turgeon had Joshua Tomaic, Reese Mona, Andrew Terrell, Valmon, and Alex Tostado for the final 3 minutes and 43 seconds of the game. Nothing is more electric than Andrew Terrell putting down the towel to step onto the floor in a regular season game.
Maryland will face their first big test of the season, taking on the Butler Bulldogs on Wednesday, November 15th at 8:30pm. This could be a big win for Maryland to show the selection committee when March comes around.
