Maryland men’s basketball found itself in an unexpected early hole Sunday against Alcorn State, trailing by two points more than nine minutes into Sunday’s contest. The Braves were efficient on offense, while forcing turnovers and contested shots on defense.
But the Terps took the lead back with 8:32 left in the first half and never looked back. They made 10 consecutive shots — including four 3-pointers — to lead by 17 points at halftime. Maryland cruised in the second half en route to a 96-58 win over Alcorn State at Xfinity Center.
Maryland (7-1) dominated in its final game before Big Ten play kicks off Wednesday against Ohio State.
Rodney Rice found Selton Miguel in the corner for a 3-pointer, the Terps’ first bucket of the game. Miguel was active early and often, a welcome sight for a player bouncing back from early-season struggles.
Julian Reese was a force in the paint on both ends of the court early. Towering over an Alcorn State team with no player taller than 6-foot-8, Reese recorded four points — all from free throws on fouls drawn in the paint — three rebounds and two blocked shots in the game’s first five minutes. He finished the game with 14 points to go with 11 rebounds.
“He worked hard this summer. He’s got a lot of confidence in his shot right now,” head coach Kevin Willard said.
Alcorn State sent Reese and Derik Queen to the line repeatedly. The pair finished with 20 combined free throw attempts — Reese was 10-of-12 and Queen was 8-of-8.
But as time progressed, the Braves figured out how to play against a bigger opponent. They abandoned paint presence in exchange for more spacing, which created room for driving layups and longer jumpshots. That, paired with a blocked Reese shot and two consecutive Maryland turnovers, catapulted a 9-0 Alcorn State run to take a 13-11 lead.
A Deshawn Harris-Smith layup and four straight Queen points kept the Terps in it until Alcorn State began to slow down. It then put together a 2 for 12 stretch from the field and went dry from the line, opening the door for Maryland to run up the score. And that’s exactly what it did.
“Our defensive intensity picked back up, we were able to get [points on the fastbreak],” Willard said.
The Terps started the game 5-of-12 from the field, but 10 consecutive makes put the shooting issues to bed. It started with paint points from Reese and Queen before the rest of the lineup started to let it fly. Rice, Miguel, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Tafara Gapare all converted from 3-point range in the stretch.
But two turnovers and five straight misses in the last three-and-a-half minutes of the first half slowed the Terps’ momentum.
Alcorn State hung around in the second half more than the Terps would have liked. Both teams scored 17 points in the first nine minutes of the frame before, for a second time, Maryland pulled away.
Queen took over in the paint, making three buckets and taking three trips to the free-throw line in the second half. He finished with four assists, nine boards and an effortless game-high 20 points.
His stretch complemented a late surge of Maryland defensive dominance to give the Terps a 23-2 run down the stretch. Gapare took over at the rim, recording five blocks and five rebounds in the second half.
“I gotta somehow get him to turn his motor on right away when he first goes in,” Willard said. “That’s what he’s capable of doing all the time.”
The bottom of the bench got some run with the game out of hand. Chance Stephens, Lukas Sotell and Ben Murphy all saw minutes — Murphy had two steals in three minutes.
Three things to know
1. Another big game from Miguel. Miguel has endured ups and downs early in his first season in College Park. But Alcorn State was a step in the right direction for him. He was a focal point of the offense and looked more comfortable in that role than he’s been previously. Miguel was Maryland’s best 3-point shooter, finishing the game 4-of-7 from long range on his way to 14 points.
2. Shooting prowess. The Terps shot well from both the field and 3-point range. Multiple long shooting streaks erased the impact of a relatively strong performance from Alcorn State. And it wasn’t because of Maryland’s size — it was efficient creating and converting jump shots. It finished the afternoon 57.1% on field goal and 47.8% on 3-pointers, both were season-highs. That’s a recipe for success no matter who the opponent is.
3. Final game before Big Ten play. Maryland has two more low-level opponents on its schedule — Saint Francis (PA) and Maryland Eastern Shore — but not before its first two Big Ten tests of the season. The Terps now move onto Ohio State and No. 13 Purdue on Wednesday and Sunday, respectively. At 7-1 with its only loss being to No. 10 Marquette, Maryland is in good shape entering conference play.
