Maryland basketball showed their strength in the second half and took control of the season-opening game against Holy Cross.
Seventh-ranked Maryland Basketball put on a show for the fans in Xfinity Center on both ends. Holy Cross kept pace with them in the first half. It wasn’t enough to win.
Anthony Cowan Jr. was back in the starting lineup for the Terps alongside Eric Ayala, but it was Jalen Smith who set the tone for the Terps.
His added muscle this offseason was working in his favor as he drew two early fouls on Holy Cross Crusaders Center Blake Verbeek. This game was a track meet as each team would take the lead from one another.
Under 12 minutes in the first half, the Crusaders led by two, 21-19. Cowan Jr. led all scorers with six points while Connor Niego had five points for the Crusaders. The Crusaders hitting their three-point shots was a big reason why this game was close. They were 3-of-6 from out there while the Terps were 1-of-7.
Maryland basketball got highlight plays out of Aaron Wiggins with a dribble-drive and an emphatic slam. He followed that up with a smooth finish in the lane drawing a foul. On defense, he blocked an Austin Butler shot near the rim and flexed for emphasis.
When Darryl Morsell came into the game, he stole the ball and took it the length of the court for a slam as well.
At the 4:41 mark, the Terps had the lead 42-31 and they were doing a great job of creating turnovers and scoring inside. They finished the half up 12 points, 51-39, behind solid defense out of Smith, Wiggins, and Morsell.
The Terps were winning the turnover battle 11-2 and drew 14 fouls on the Crusaders.
Morsell was the high point man for the Terps with 12 points and three steals off the bench, Cowan had eight points and Smith had six points, five rebounds, and a block. Wiggins was making plays on both ends and ended the half with six points, three rebounds, and two blocks.
Marlon Hargis put up 11 points off the bench for the Crusaders while Niego and Drew Lowder each had nine.
Like the game with Fayetteville State, the Terps yet again showed the strength of their zone defense. They pressured the ball and rotated in help defense situations very well. They probably would’ve been up by a lot more had the Crusaders not been shooting at a 55 percent rate from the field and 40 percent from the three-point line.
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In the second half, the Terps were up nine, 54-45 with 15:58 to go. They were knocking down their baskets while the Crusaders struggled.
At the 12:52 mark, an Ayala corner three broke the game open to 19 points with the Terps leading 68-49.
The one bright spot for the Crusaders was Lowder in this game who had 21 points and five assists at this point. He would finish with 24.
Maryland basketball pulled away and cruised toward victory with a final score of 95-71.
Smith finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. Morsell put up solid numbers off the bench with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Cowan Jr. had 12 points, five assists and four rebounds and Ayala had 12 points as well.
This was an all-around team win for the Terps. The Crusaders tried to fight back but the Terps were just too much for them on both ends of the floor.
Maryland basketball will face Rhode Island this Saturday at home on FS1. The game time for that matchup is 9 pm. The Holy Cross Crusaders will look to even their record with a win against the New Hampshire Wildcats on Saturday as well.