Maryland men’s basketball entered Tuesday night’s clash with Alcorn State shooting 22.4 percent from three, the worst clip among Power Five teams. The next-lowest Power Five shooting team was Oregon State, a whole five percentage points higher.
But the Terps, against perhaps the worst opponent they’ll face this season in 1-9 Alcorn State, shot the lights out inside the friendly confines of the Xfinity Center. They finished the night 47 percent from beyond the arc on 30 attempts. And it wasn’t just a few players carrying the load – everyone got in on the action.
DeShawn Harris-Smith, the freshman guard who entered Tuesday shooting 2-for-22 from three, splashed three of his four triples on the night. Fellow freshman Jamie Kaiser Jr. had three of his own, while Jahari Long and Noah Batchelor each sank a pair.
“You see your teammate make a shot, it just gives you positive energy to step into the next one and knock it down,” Harris-Smith said. “I feel like [we’re] just being great teammates out there, just playing for each other. And when you do that the ball’s gonna go in the hoop.”
Maryland (6-4) put forth a complete offensive performance, shooting above 50 percent from the field for just the second time this season. The Terps used their hot shooting to explode for a 58-point second half and bludgeon Alcorn State, 105-65.
It was a balanced scoring attack for the Terps. Six players scored five or more points in the first half and six ended in double figures — a stark contrast to the Indiana and Penn State games when just two and three players did so, respectively.
Maryland’s passing also looked the best it’s been all season against the Braves. The Terps crushed their season-high 17-assist mark with 20 assists on 57 shots. Jahmir Young paced them in that category with seven dimes, spreading the ball evenly and finding open shooters off of drives to the paint.
“Just trying to get the best shot possible,” Young said. “Moving the ball side-to-side until one of us is free and one of us is open … If we move the ball, the better we’ll be.”
But Maryland struggled to secure defensive rebounds early, a usual staple of coach Kevin Willard squads. This year’s team averaged 24 defensive boards through the first nine games. The Terps didn’t secure a defensive rebound until the 11:58 mark of the opening half Tuesday. Their second such board came over seven minutes later. But the intensity down low picked up to conclude the half, finishing with seven defensive and offensive rebounds apiece as Maryland led 47-33.
The Terps’ offense was on fire coming out of the halftime break. Harris-Smith drained a pair of threes in the opening four minutes, including a confident-looking pull-up from the top of the key, to give Maryland a 60-41 advantage.
That lead was cut to 16 after a pair of Alcorn State buckets. But Maryland put its foot on the gas after that, going on a 13-0 run to take a 75-46 advantage with 12:50 remaining.
By the end of the contest, the Terps surpassed their season-high 102 points against Rider while putting forth season highs in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage in their most complete offensive performance of the season.
Maryland will get a week off before its next contest, another home game against Nicholls next Tuesday.
