Maryland men’s basketball picked up their second win of the Italy tour after steamrolling Florence All-Stars on Friday in a 97-68 win.
Jahmir Young led the way with 19 points on 64% shooting, along with four assists and steals, with five Terps finishing in double figures. Jamie Kaiser finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds and two steals while knocking down three of his six attempts from three. Julian Reese added 15 points and eight rebounds while Donta Scott finished with 12 points on 71% shooting, along with adding three rebounds.
Another strong effort tonight! 🇮🇹🐢 https://t.co/U5yU1aSkMU pic.twitter.com/ZL8bsmGlJl
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) August 4, 2023
Maryland shot 53.6% from the field including a 61.9% effort in the first half. Rome shot just 44% from the floor, including 3-of-15 in the fourth quarter, while Maryland turned 25 turnovers into 31 points including 21 fast-break points.
“It was good to play the same team because they were able to have a couple [of] practices, able to attack our press and do some different things so it was good. For us we had to make some adjustments against them. I really saw some younger guys made some good adjustments with some things we did so I’m pretty pleased with the way the game went,” Willard said postgame.
“I think, like I said, some of the younger guys are starting to pick up some of the adjustments we made and I think the biggest thing is that I thought we did a much better job of saying ‘this is what we’ll focus on, let’s try to do that’ and they were able to do it.”
Maryland rolled over Rome All-Stars, 92-52, in the first game of the trip as Julian Reese led five Terps in double-figures. Along with a game-high 14 points, Reese added six boards and two assists while Jamie Kaiser added 13 points, six steals and three rebounds. Jahmir Young (12 pts, 5 reb, 3 asst), Donta Scott (11 pts, 6 reb) and DeShawn Harris-Smith (10 pts, 7 reb, 5 asst) helped Maryland shoot over 52% from the floor while holding Rome to just 33.3% shooting.
Maryland will take the floor for their third and final game of the trip on Monday at 12 PM EST against the Bassano All-Stars at Palazetto dello Sport di Mazzano.
“I’d like to see us make a little bit better adjustment just on offense, just understanding kind of who’s hot, who to get the ball to,” Willard said on what he’s looking to improve on in game three. “When a team makes a run, who do we need to give the ball to? Things like that, but for the most part, these guys have done a great job.”
Aside from their exhibition matchups, Maryland spent two days in Rome visiting the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Roman Colosseum. The team traveled to Florence on Thursday with trips to Venice and Lake Como awaiting them.
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