After a thrilling overtime victory over Penn State in its first conference home game, Maryland basketball welcomed Alcorn State into the Xfinity Center to begin its last stretch of non-conference play before the calendar flips to the new year. Despite a valiant first-half performance by the Braves, a balanced scoring effort helped Maryland pull away in the second half for a convincing 105-65 win. Six different players scored in double-figures for the Terps, who shot 53% from the field in the victory.
“I think that’s what I was really excited about this home stand, just for the fact that we’re getting done with finals, we can concentrate on basketball, we can get in a little bit of a rhythm and every time we’ve been at home for a long stretch we have ended up playing really well,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “Those guys have been working hard so it’s good to see them getting rewarded.”
With the victory, Maryland has won its 17th straight home game, the sixth-longest national streak. The 105 points mark the second time that Maryland has broken the century mark this season, last being the win over Rider on Nov. 28.
A career-high 12-point showing from freshman wing Jamie Kaiser Jr. propelled Maryland, as he knocked down three of Maryland’s 14 three-pointers. Kaiser Jr. has now scored in double figures in two consecutive games.
“[The shooting] definitely is contagious,” freshman guard DeShawn Harris-Smith said. “You see your teammate make a shot [it] just gives you positive energy to step into the next one and knock it down. I feel like we were just being great teammates out there and just playing for each other and when you do that the ball is going to go in the hoop.”
The Terps recorded 20 assists on 30 made field goals.
“I think the 20 assists on the 30 made field goals is great,” Willard said. “I thought the ball movement was good, I don’t think anyone tried to be selfish. They do a lot of things defensively sometimes that can keep you off balance.”
Early on, it was clear that Maryland’s offensive emphasis was to get as many paint touches as possible. Jordan Geronimo connected on his first three field goals as the Terps scored 10 of their first 11 points around the rim.
After a Dekedran Thorn jumper knotted the game at 11, back-to-back threes from Kaiser Jr. and Noah Batchelor helped Maryland re-gain the lead.
The pair would each knock down another three in the first half, which gave Maryland a 27-17 lead with just over nine minutes to play in the opening frame. The hot shooting allowed Willard to implement the full-court press, which caused problems for the Braves in the first half.
Maryland scored 18 points off 12 first-half Alcorn State turnovers.
Trailing 30-19, Alcorn State strung together a 6-0 run to creep back into the game. The Braves knocked down 5-of-6 field goals during the run as Maryland went scoreless over a five-minute stretch.
Thorn scored nine of his 13 points in the first half, including his lone three-point make.
A 10-point run by Jahari Long and Donta Scott ensued, with both players knocking down a three-pointer in the process. Despite being out-rebounded 16-14 in the half, Maryland made four of its last five from the field and took a 47-33 lead into the halftime break.
Maryland began to pull away early in the second half thanks in large part to a pair of threes by Harris-Smith, who scored in double-figures for the first time since Nov. 21 against UMBC. He entered Tuesday’s game shooting 9.1% from three-point range so far this season.
His 12 points on an efficient 3-of-6 shooting from the field was a pleasant sight for him and his head coach, who has worked tirelessly alongside him in an attempt to break his perimeter slump.
“Me and coach Willard have been working out at 8:30 every morning, just me and him, he’s been helping me work on my shot, so he told me, ‘We’re not going to work out for you to not shoot in the game, so just come out today, eyes up, play with confidence and shoot it with confidence,'” Harris-Smith said.
The Terps knocked down five of their first seven shots from the field to start the second half, which included four threes. Five different players connected on at least two three-point field goals.
Alcorn State did its best to hang around by making five of its first eight field goals to start the half, but an ensuing 21-5 Maryland run over a seven-plus minute stretch took the wind out of the Braves’ sail.
Maryland’s persistent interior attack was evident in the free-throw discrepancy, as the Terps attempted 40 from the line in comparison to Alcorn State’s 16.
Julian Reese, who led the scoring for Maryland with a somewhat quiet 15 point-performance, continued his ascent towards becoming a formidable threat from the free-throw line by going 9-12.
Among the six who finished in double-figures, freshman guard Jahnathan Lamothe went 4-of-5 from the field off the bench for a career-high 10 points in 12 minutes of play.
“I was more hyped when he was scoring than when I was scoring,” Harris-Smith said. “It was just a great team win, great vibes.”
Maryland will face Nicholls on Dec. 19 at 8:30 p.m.
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