Terps coast in exhibition win over Fayetteville State

Maryland took the court with a new-look squad on Friday nightas the Terps coasted in their lone exhibition game, topping Fayetteville State 89-40 as head coach Mark Turgeon was able to tap into his full bench.

The Terps put it on the Broncos in the paint and were tenacious all night in transition and on defense. Julian ‘Juju’ Reese, off the bench, was the night’s biggest presence down low and fronted the scoring frenzy with 16 points (4-6 at the charity stripe), to go along with five boards and a block.

“He’s really helpful to the team,” said center Qudus Wahab, who finished the game with 10 points (5-5 shooting) and six boards “He’s gonna be good for us when the season starts.”

Fatts Russell, Eric Ayala, Hakim Hart, Donta Scott, and Qudus Wahab drew the start as they started slow, a trend that Turgeon attributed to nerves. “Obviously, it was good night,” Turgeon said after the win. “We didn't start the game great, we were a little bit nervous but the guys did great the last 32 minutes. I thought our first-team defense was terrific; the first five minutes they gave up two points, first five minutes of the second half, they gave up two points. We kind of really got it going. Played inside out with our offense probably had over 40. We had 23 paint touches at halftime, I imagine we had over 40 some for the game, so it was a terrific game there. And then we really defended. We kept them out of the paint, we guard the ball well and we got better.”

Fatts Russell and Qudus Wahab both finished in double-figures on 9-of-11 combined shooting, while Hakim Hart tallied another ten points. But freshman forward Julian Reese got it going early as the bench picked up the slack, extending the Terps lead to double figures before heading into halftime with a 20-point lead. Reese finished with a team-high 16 points in the win, but foul trouble did limit his minutes. Turgeon was still pleased with the performance.

“We'll see how he progresses as the year goes on. You know, we're trying to figure out if he can guard a four-man you know, he can still switch screens like we're doing out there and maybe play him and [Qudus] together some. Right now we're not practicing that, it's not in our immediate game plan but it could be something that you know, after the new year that that we do type thing. So he's a good player, he's a really good player and you want to keep your best players on the floor. And so we'll figure it out as it goes on. But right now he's our backup five and glad he's here. He's really good.”

Everyone got in on the action, and all but two Terps scored. Collectively the fellas had about an average three to four-inch height advantage over the Broncos, prompting head coach Mark Turgeon to steer his team into prioritizing ways of getting the rock to the block -- options, he says, he didn’t have last year. And it always helps when you have stalwarts Qudus Wahab and fellow starters Eric Ayala (10 rebounds), Donta Scott (one block) and the likes of Reese buttressing the Terps’ offense from the bench.

New guard Ian Martinez will play backup to Fatts at the one and while he struggled on the offensive end with just one bucket and five points, he was able to affect the game defensively with a pair of blocks and steals to go with four rebounds. Turgeon admitted “he’ll play starter minutes” this season, but getting him into shape is a focus heading into the season after Martinez missed time this summer recovering from offseason surgery. “He might not start all the time but he'll play starter minutes. He'll play backup point, he'll play backup two and he was terrific. He's a great on-ball defender. He did have some nice blocks which is good. We're working on becoming a better team defender, but he was really good with that.” Fatts was complimentary of his fellow point guard.

“I’ve never seen anybody jump like No. 4,” gleamed Russell, who also finished the game with two assists, five boards and two steals. “When he’s just doing his thing, I’m a fan. He can shoot, he makes really good decisions, and, when he gets in the paint, he’s a freak athlete.”