Julian Reese, Derik Queen log double-doubles in Maryland men’s basketball’s 81-66 win over Maryland Eastern Shore

Photo courtesy of University of Maryland Athletics

Although Christmas has passed, Maryland men’s basketball (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) gifted its fans another victory. 

After thrashing the Syracuse Orange in Brooklyn last Saturday, the Terps came back to the Xfinity Center to take on fellow Old Line State school University of Maryland, Eastern Shore (4-12). In a closely contested match, the Terps were victorious over the Hawks, 81-66, extending their unranked non-conference victories at home to 23 straight.

Despite being 43-point underdogs, the Hawks constantly remained in the Terps’ rearview mirror, trailing by no more than 23 all game. The visitors utilized early misses from the Terps and scored 16 points off turnovers. 

Although it was a respectable day from the field for the Terps, finishing with a mark of 47.6%, they found most of their success in the paint with 46 points, fueled by their 20-second chance points off their 15 offensive rebounds. The dominant front-court duo of Julian Reese and Derik Queen drew 19 of the team’s 22 free throw shots, sinking 13 combined. 

The Terps’ recent success beyond the arc was nowhere to be found, as they only sunk 27.8% of their three-point attempts, their third-worst mark of the season. 

However, the defensive side didn’t falter. The Terps forced the Hawks into multiple shot clock violations and outrebounded the Hawks 37-32 overall. 

It was another impressive outing for the veteran Reese. He finished as the Terps’ leading scorer with 23 points and added 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the 2024 campaign. The freshman phenom Queen added a double-double performance, notching 18 points and a team-leading 14 rebounds. Ja’Kobi Gillespie was just one point and one assist shy of his own. 

Although the bench wasn’t a big factor in the match, Kevin Willard gave five of his support guys meaningful minutes. Most notably, Deshawn Harris-Smith played 19 minutes, up from his 14 a week ago and his mere four against Saint Francis on the 17th. 

Harris-Smith sunk a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first half, greeted by high-fives from the entire Maryland bench heading into the locker room. The former four-star hasn’t been as big of a contributor as he or the team had hoped through his first season and a half, but Willard continues to try to boost his confidence.

Now finished with their first two months of the season and all of their non-conference opponents, the Terps turn their attention to nothing but Big Ten play the rest of the way. They begin their conference campaign on January 2nd with a road trip to the West Coast, where they’ll take on the newest additions to the Big Ten in the Washington Huskies, followed just a few days later by the No. 10 Oregon Ducks.