Busting Brackets
Fansided

Maryland Basketball: Terps have another solid defensive outing vs Fairfield

ByAnthony Brown|
COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 03: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins signals to his players in the first half during a college basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines at the XFinity Center on March 3, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 03: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins signals to his players in the first half during a college basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines at the XFinity Center on March 3, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Maryland Basketball wins its fourth game of the season against a hot-shooting Fairfield Stags team.

Maryland Basketball (4-0) is off to a hot start as the sixth-best team in the nation. Their 80-50 victory over the Oakland Golden Bears (3-2) was another reminder of how good this team has the potential to be.

Darryl Morsell was the Terps’ leading scorer with 14 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Anthony Cowan Jr. followed him with 11 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Aaron Wiggins continued his outstanding play early this season adding 10 points, three steals, and two rebounds.

The Terps forced 19 Golden Bear turnovers and dominated in the categories that win basketball games: Fastbreak points (30-4), bench points (34-16), and points off turnovers (25-15).

Coming into this season, it was expected that Cowan Jr. (12.3 points per game, 5.7 assists per game, 4.3 rebounds per game). and Jalen Smith (14.3 PPG, 9.7 RPG) were going to be major producers for Maryland basketball.

Wiggins has shown a tremendous leap in his level of play on both ends of the floor. He could serve as their X-factor in key games down the road in the conference. He is averaging 10.7 PPG and 6.7 RPG.

Their next opponent was the Fairfield Stags (1-4) who have struggled early on this season. They have three high scoring guards in Jesus Cruz (19.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG) Landon Taliaferro (14.3 PPG, three RPG) and Taj Benning (11.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG).

Cruz gave Fairfield an early lead with two three-pointers that hit the bottom of the net, but Wiggins added another highlight to his list with a steal and one-hand slam in traffic. The Terps held a 7-6 lead with 15:02 to go in the first half.

They jumped out to an 18-12 lead after an Eric Ayala three-pointer and Morsell steal and dunk. The Terps were taking advantage of the Stags’ inability to secure the basketball. At the 7:40 mark in the first half, the Stags had eight turnovers. The Terps went on a 10-2 run giving them a nine-point 23-14 lead.

The score at half time was 41-27 Terps. Both teams were efficient at shooting the three-point shot. The Stags were 7-of-11(44 percent) and the Terps were 5-of-9 (48 percent). Smith had eight points and four rebounds followed by Cowan Jr.’s seven points and three assists. Wiggins, Ayala and Ricky Lindo Jr. combined for 18 points as well.

Maryland basketball switched between man and zone defense on the Stags and gave them full-court pressure at some points. That switching proved to be an effective strategy by Mark Turgeon.

The Stags managed to get the lead to 10 points, 48-38, due to sloppy ball control by Maryland basketball. This forced a timeout by Turgeon and a need to regroup.

More from Maryland Terrapins

At the 11 minute mark, Fairfield cut Maryland basketball’s lead to nine, 55-46. Taliaferro and Cruz were leading the charge with 15 and 12 points respectively in addition to solid team defense.

The Terps were losing momentum. Their defensive approach changed a bit as they started to pressure less in order to stay ready to defend the three-point line. This made sense given the fact that the Stags were shooting well from out there all game. If that efficiency continued, they could have put more pressure on the Terps.

Under six minutes to go in the game, the score was 67-49 and the Terps were doing a better job of closing out on Stag shooters.

The Terps secured their fourth win of the season with a final score of 74-55.

Smith led the Terps with 17 points and eight rebounds. Cowan Jr. had 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Lindo Jr. and Ayala finished with 13 points.

Maryland basketball has once again put on a show defensively causing 21 turnovers. If they keep this up, they could become one of the best defensive teams in the Big Ten and the nation.

Next up, The Terps face the George Mason Patriots Friday at 7 pm EST. The Stags will face another tough opponent in the USC Trojans November 28 at 4 pm EST.

Home/Maryland Terrapins