Maryland men’s basketball’s offense was timid in the first half of its Saturday night clash with South Alabama.
The Jaguars employed a 2-3 zone and used it heavily to open the game. Maryland’s guards struggled to get the ball inside to Julian Reese, who often sat in the high post with his arms up, waiting for an entry pass. The ball instead swung along the perimeter with little off-ball movement or penetration to the rim.
But as the team came out of the tunnel for the second half, a flip must have switched.
Jordan Geronimo converted a tough layup just 15 seconds into the period. Not long after, Donta Scott drained a three to put the Terps up eight. Then, the floodgates opened.
Freshman guard DeShawn Harris-Smith galloped down the court after collecting a defensive rebound. He found a diving Geronimo, who was flying toward the rim in transition, floating a live-dribble pass over the outstretched arms of a Jaguar defender. Geronimo corralled the ball before collecting his feet and exploding upward, slamming it all over his defender for a monstrous dunk.
Reese converted a layup off another Harris-Smith assist on Maryland’s next offensive possession. He lowered his right palm to the court after the make, signaling that the South Alabama defenders were too small. From there, the Terps jumped out to a 22-point lead, gaining all the confidence they needed to slam the door on the Jaguars, 68-55.
“Our three-point shooting is obviously a struggle right now,” coach Kevin Willard said. “I thought we did a much better job of getting the ball side-to-side quickly in the second half and then getting the ball inside. In the first half we didn’t shift the zone at all, the ball kind of stuck a lot.”
The first half was a poor one offensively for Maryland. Nine of its first 14 shot attempts were low-quality three pointers — and only one dropped as the team-wide shooting drought continued. With 11:31 remaining in the opening half, the Terps had made just three total field goals and trailed the Jaguars 10-7.
“Our coach believes in our shot[s]. We believe in each others’ shots,” Scott said. “So if you’re open, shoot it. And a lot of times we were open, we just unfortunately didn’t make them.”
Maryland’s offense began to show signs of life later in the first half, with the Terps beginning to pound the rock inside for 16 total points in the paint. Scott paced Maryland with 13 first-half points while Jahmir Young was not far behind with eight. Still, the Terps’ 29 points at the end of the period was their lowest first-half output this season outside of the 17-point loss at Villanova.
The Terps’ defense proved to be ahead of the offense, as has been the case so far this campaign — it kept Maryland afloat for the majority of the first half. The Terps forced seven Jaguar giveaways and scored six points off turnovers.
Geronimo became extremely active to begin the second half as the offense found its stride, seeking out contact under the rim consistently. His tone-setting dunk gave way to a dominant Maryland run, as Reese and Young took turns penetrating the rim en route to a 52-30 lead.
“I was just able to find the gap, find the open space in the zone,” Geronimo said. “I was able to just make plays out of that and my teammates were able to find me. So kudos to them.”
The Jaguars cut back into the lead as the Terps fell into a slight offensive lull, cutting it to 58-47 with five minutes left. But Reese’s 15 point second half on 6-for-6 shooting was too much for South Alabama to overcome, and Maryland claimed its first win streak of the season.
The Terps will be back in action against Rider on Tuesday, their third straight home game.
