Strong first half propels Maryland men’s basketball past Old Dominion 73-58

Photo by Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

Coach Buzz Williams has repeatedly said that Maryland men’s basketball would have to rely on free throws to spark its offense this season. 

Against Old Dominion, the Terps leaned on their 3-point shooting.

Riding a 45-point first half that featured 10 made threes, Maryland dominated Old Dominion 73-58 at the Xfinity Center in College Park on Sunday. The Terps attempted only 17 free throws, their third-fewest in a game this season and their fewest in a win, but shot 11-for-29 from three.

“We were getting really good one-pass threes, extra pass threes, touching the paint kick-out threes,” junior guard Isaiah Watts said.

Maryland (7-6, 0-2 Big Ten) was without senior forward/center Pharrel Payne for a second straight game after he suffered a knee injury against No. 2 Michigan on Dec. 13. Missing their leading scorer, the Terps still took a commanding early lead.

Maryland held Old Dominion (4-10) scoreless for nearly six minutes to begin the game and sprinted to a 17-0 lead. 

The Monarchs shot just 28% from the field and 2-for-10 on 3-pointers in the first half. Maryland also forced eight turnovers, parlaying them into nine points. The Terps, who lead the Big Ten with 14.2 turnovers per game, committed only two in the first half.

Payne’s absence forced Maryland to employ a small-ball lineup. The Terps’ guards delivered, especially from beyond the arc.

Watts led the Terps with 17 points and made four of his five three-point attempts. Both marked a season-high for Watts, who has struggled offensively. The Washington State transfer entered Sunday averaging 4.8 points per game and shooting only 27% from three.

“I’m disappointed in myself a little bit, not playing the way I wanted to in the second half, but [the first half] was a great confidence booster for sure,” Watts said.

Fellow guard Darius Adams – Maryland’s third-leading scorer – chipped in with 11 points in the first half. The freshman also had his best shooting half of the season, converting three of his five 3-point attempts. 

Redshirt freshman guard Andre Mills tied a season-high with three 3-pointers. Maryland rode these season-best shooting performances to a 10-for-19 showing from long range in the first half.

The Terps entered halftime with a 45-18 lead following their torrid shooting start, but slowed down in the second half. 

After knocking down 10 three-pointers in the first half, the Terps took over 11 minutes to hit their first three in the second half. Junior forward Elijah Saunders’ 3-pointer with 8:47 remaining was the Terps’ only made 3-point shot of the second half.

“I thought we did a much better job [in the first half] of getting the defense in rotation that led to an uncontested shot,” Williams said. “Some of the threes we shot in the second half were not the same types of threes.”

During the second-half shooting slump, Payne’s absence seemed to impact the Terps for the first time all game against the Monarchs.

Maryland shot just 34.5% from the field and attempted only 10 free throws. Watts and graduate guard Diggy Coit — who has often served as the secondary option to Payne — were both scoreless in the second half.

Old Dominion trimmed Maryland’s lead to as few as 12 points, but the Terps’ sizable halftime lead was enough cushion to put the Monarchs away.

Maryland begins its full conference slate on Jan. 2 against Oregon. If the Terps are still missing Payne, they’ll likely continue to depend on their three-point shooting.