Maryland men's basketball cruises early in non-conference finale win vs. Old Dominion

Chase King
Dec 28, 2025
3 min read

The Maryland Terrapins (6-6) hosted the Old Dominion Monarchs (4-9) in their last non-conference bout of the season, where the Terps would take advantage of a strong start to win 73-58.

Maryland would be without its star forward Pharrel Payne for their second consecutive game as it attempted to break a three-game losing streak.

The Terps would roll out with a starting lineup of freshman Darius Adams, redshirt freshman Andre Mills, junior Isaiah Watts, senior Elijah Saunders, and senior Solomon Washington.

Maryland would see some familiar faces on the other side, with Old Dominion’s Head Coach Mike Jones being an assistant coach at Maryland two years ago. Along with that, the former Terp Caelum Swanton-Rodger started for the Monarchs.

Swanton-Rodger played two years for the Terps before transferring to Old Dominion, where he averaged 7.4 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Maryland would burst out of the gates, starting the game on a 17-point run over the first six minutes of the game.

On offense, Maryland found success in and out to start the game, with two early three-pointers and six early paint points to go along with five free throws.

Without Payne, the Terps would depend on much smaller lineups, but despite that, the Terps' defense shone early.

In the Terps' opening run, the defense accounted for three turnovers and seven straight missed shots.

The defense would continue to smother the Monarchs, which led to Maryland’s 45-18 lead going into the half.

Maryland’s defense put pressure on Old Dominion above the arc, trying not to limit paint touches, which worked well in the first half.

Old Dominion finished the first half with eight turnovers, while shooting 28% from the field with only six points in the paint.

Maryland’s offense came primarily from behind the arc, with the Terps making 10 three-pointers in the first half, totaling two-thirds of their points.

All 10 three pointers came from Watts, Mills, and Adams, who also combined for 39 of the Terps' 45 first-half points.

Maryland entered the game with 11.2 assists per game, which ranked 315th in the nation. The Terps would finish the first half with 14 assists.

Old Dominion would work to decrease its deficit to start the second half, with senior guard KC Shaw scoring seven points in the first two minutes of the half to decrease the lead to 22 points.

Shaw ended the game with 19 points, and freshman guard Zacch Wiggins, the brother of former Terp Aaron Wiggins, finished the game with 14 points for the Monarchs.

Old Dominion would continue to find success on offense in the second half, as they were able to finally find success in the paint, where they scored 20 of their second-half points.

The Monarchs ended the half with 40 points while shooting 43.8% from the field. Maryland’s defense was much less aggressive, but a lot of Old Dominion’s success came from Maryland’s misses or turnovers on the other end.

On offense, Maryland just coasted through the second half. They shot 10-for-29 from the field and 1-for-10 from three. They also played sloppier, turning the ball over six times in the second half.

Despite that, they found enough success in the paint and from the free-throw line to keep their lead at a comfortable distance, where they eventually won by 15.

An area where the Terps really struggled was in their rebounding, where they were missing Payne. Maryland grabbed only 8 offensive rebounds while allowing Old Dominion to secure 11. Old Dominion also entered the game ranked 318th in offensive rebounds per game.

Maryland now moves on towards their next test against the Oregon Ducks on Friday at home. The Terps will be looking for their first win in conference play against the Ducks, who are also 0-2 in the Big Ten.

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