Maryland leads wire-to-wire versus Florida A&M, improves to 3-0

Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

The Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball team orchestrated a defensive clinic in its Monday night matchup with the Florida A&M Rattlers at XFINITY Center, en route to a 84-53 win to stay unbeaten on the season.

Playing a full-court press from the start, the Terps immediately forced a 10-second violation. On the next possession, they turned the Rattlers over again. Maryland led 6-0 before FAMU possessed the ball beyond halfcourt.

The bleeding did not stop there, as a missed jump shot was followed by another 10-second violation, another turnover, and an offensive foul. A&M’s first bucket of the game, a hard-fought layup by graduate transfer forward Ja’Derryus Eatmon, made the score 15-2 Maryland.

“I liked our defensive intensity from the start,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “I like where we’re at and I think we can get much better.”

In total, the Terps converted 31 points off of 22 FAMU turnovers. They won the second-chance points battle 15-5, despite being out-rebounded on both ends of the floor.

Senior forward Julian Reese anchored the offense, notching 21 points and 9 rebounds, including a 5-for-5 effort from the free throw line. Fifth-year guard Selton Miguel had his most impactful game as a Terp, putting up 14 in his second straight game in double figures. 

Freshman center Derik Queen looked primed for another explosive night, logging three points, an offensive rebound, a steal, and an assist in the first 80 seconds of the game. The Baltimore native finished with 11 points, three assists, two steals, two rebounds and two blocks, igniting the crowd several times in the second half.

“Anybody could have a good night. I feel like tonight was just my night, and Friday’s probably gonna be somebody else’s night,” Reese said. “We just keep doing that and we’ll be good.”

Junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie offered steady scoring and defense once again, pouring in 12 with three steals and five rebounds, including an emphatic dunk in the fifth minute of the second half. Sophomore guard Rodney Rice followed up a career night on Friday with 10 ticks in 15 minutes of action.

After the Terrapins came roaring out of the gate, Florida A&M began adjusting to Maryland’s defense and found some offense in Eatmon and senior forward Tyler Shirley, who later fouled out with 10 points and seven boards.

With 11:06 left in the first half, a Reese second-chance dunk brought the Terps’ lead to 21-14. The game’s next field goal happened almost six minutes later.

Reese, Miguel and Gillespie woke the Terrapin offense back up in the waning minutes of the first half, taking a 40-21 lead into the locker room.

The Rattlers’ offensive woes continued out of the break, as they were held to single-digit second-half points until 10:43 remaining. They also shot a measly 7-for-17 from the charity stripe on the night.

“Just to have a two-day turnaround – we [pressed full-court] just because it’s a lot like what we’ll get in Big Ten play,” Willard said. “The press is much more effective this year because of the guys that we have on it.”

Willard again reached deep into the Terps’ rotation, as all 14 players saw time on the floor. Redshirt freshman forward Braden Pierce picked up four fouls in six minutes.

The win marks the first time in program history Maryland has beaten each of its first three opponents by at least 30 points. The team will look to continue its hot start Friday night versus Marquette, currently ranked 15th in the AP Poll.