Maryland men’s basketball dominates from the start, defeats Binghamton, 76-52

An Ike Cornish catch-and-shoot three-pointer with just over two minutes left in the game erupted the XFINITY Center crowd dressed in yellow and red. 

It wasn’t a major breakout game for the redshirt freshman, but his career-high nine points and efficiency off the bench added to yet another dominant win, as Maryland men’s basketball defeated Binghamton, 76-52. 

It was a familiar face with another elite performance as sophomore forward Julian Reese tied his career-high in points (19). Senior guard Hakim Hart also pieced together an impressive performance with 13 points and eight rebounds. 

Senior forward Donta Scott was the other Terp to hit double-digits in points (10), proving that Maryland has multiple scoring options at its disposal.

“When you have those guys out there I think they all understand that any given night it can be one of their nights,” coach Kevin Willard said. “I think that’s one reason why you see us being so balanced.”

The game kicked off with three straight turnovers on offense for the Bearcats, foreshadowing another elite defensive performance from the Terps. Maryland capitalized by jumping out to an 8-0 lead with easy looks in transition. 

Reese rattled off a quick and easy six points in the first five minutes. Coming off a career-high in points and rebounds, Reese was made part of the offensive game plan from the onset. 

The Maryland defense suffocated the Binghamton offense early, forcing eight turnovers in just the first seven minutes. 12 of Maryland’s first 18 points came off turnovers, and during that time Maryland had not turned the ball over once.

“It gives everybody energy once we get those turnovers cause it leads to fastbreak points,” Scott said. “Once we get our fastbreak points, it’s just easier for us to not ease up but it’s easier for us to have in the back of our mind.”

Back-to-back buckets by Scott gave the Terps an 18-point lead at the 7:25 mark. One of which was an emphatic slam that came off an offensive rebound. 

Cornish responded with back-to-back shots of his own to grow the lead even further.

Graduate student guard Jahmir Young fed Reese inside with a strategic bounce pass that led to a left-handed ferocious tomahawk slam with 2:24 left in the first half. On the next offensive play, Hart knocked down a three from the left elbow to give Maryland all the momentum heading into the second half. 

Both Reese and Hart reached double-figures in the first half.

Eight different Terps scored in the first half, showing Maryland’s depth. Maryland dominated in points off turnovers, fastbreak points and offensive rebounding in the half, as the Bearcats were held to zero in all three categories.

It was a similar first half as the Western Carolina game, except this time the Terps did a much better job rebounding the basketball. Rebounding entered as a concern through two games for Maryland as the Terps narrowly won the rebounding advantage against two much smaller teams. 

At the half, the Terps more than doubled the Bearcats on the boards. 

Coming out of the break, both teams appeared to have a slow start with minimal action on both sides. That changed when Hart found Reese inside, who finished through contact. Tempers flared for a brief moment as frustration for the Bearcats was evident.

Maryland captured its largest lead with 8:29 to go in the second half with a 32-point advantage. The Bearcats did their best to claw their way back into the game, but Maryland’s fast-paced offense proved to be too dominant. 

Maryland cruised its way to another dominant win despite struggling to shoot from beyond the arc (4-20).

The Willard era is off to a 3-0 start, and the Terps will look to make it four in a row next time out against Saint Louis.