Three-point shooting, defense lifts Maryland men's basketball to season opening win vs. Coppin State

Ahmed Ghafir
3 days ago
3 min read

Maryland men’s basketball cruised in its season opener vs. Coppin State at CFG Arena,

With Elijah Saunders and Pharrel Payne manning the frontcourt and Guillermo Del Pino, Darius Adams and Andre Mills drawing the start in the backcourt in the opener, Darius Adams would open the season scoring with a pair of free throws before Pharrel Payne flushed home the first bucket on a transition dunk to give Maryland a lead they never let up – then the perimeter shooting kicked in.

After hitting just five threes vs. UMBC including one in the first half, Maryland set the tone early with its perimeter shooting with three of the team’s first four made shots coming from three, each from a different player. That continued through the first half to help Maryland build a double digit lead with half of the team’s 16 made shots coming from three, highlighted by Andre Mills' three made deep shots for his first double figures scoring game.

Diggy Coit, making his debut three minutes into the game, made his presence felt quickly with ten points and four assists through 15 minutes while becoming one of three players with multiple made threes.

Maryland didn’t only rely on its offense through the first half after Maryland capitalized on the defensive end, embracing the natural identity of a Buzz Williams coached team, turning six steals and 11 turnovers into 14 points to lead for all but 21 seconds through the first half while leading by as many as 16 before taking a 47-32 lead into halftime.

Then the cold streak set in to begin the second half after Isaiah Watts' three at the 13:40 mark was the first field goal of the second half, allowing the Eagles to cut the lead to single digits three times. The first was sparked by a shooting foul on a three-point attempt before a layup after a loose ball trimmed the lead to eight. Elijah Saunders would hit the team's second field goal of the half less than 30 second later, sparking a 12-2 run to solidify the game with the team’s free throw shooting a chance to soften Coppin State’s momentum.

After a pair of Darius Adams' free throws pushed the lead to 61-49, Coppin State would respond with a layup – then Maryland went on a 22-2 run before the Eagles hit their next shot.

On the other end, Maryland capitalized on free throw shooting, which proved to be the catalyst to the second half with 16 of the team’s 36 second half points came from the charity stripe with Darius Adams, the only player to attempt double digit free throws, connecting on seven of his eight free throw attempts over the final 20 minutes.

Five straight points from Pharrel Payne, who finished with 21 points and six rebounds while shooting a perfect 9-for-9 from the line, with just over six minutes remaining pushed the lead over 20 points as Maryland’s efficiency from the line, coupled with Coppin State’s scoreless streak, helped put the game to bed as the Terps stretched its lead to as many as 30 points in the closing minutes.

Next: Maryland will host Georgetown on Friday for a 6 PM tipoff.

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