LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — No. 3 Maryland rattled off three straight wins to claim the Orlando Invitational championship over the weekend and the Terps are now 8-0 for the first time in the Mark Turgeon era. Much of Maryland’s success has come from preseason All-Americans Jalen ‘Stix’ Smith and Anthony Cowan Jr., who was named tournament MVP after scoring 72 points between three contests, but other Terps have filled their roles nicely so far this season. None more so than junior guard and the Terps’ glue guy, Darryl Morsell.

In Maryland’s impressive 84-63 win over Marquette in the championship game on Sunday, Morsell recorded his second consecutive double-double by scoring 17 points and rippings down 10 boards. But the Baltimore native’s most important contribution against the Golden Eagles was his ability to shut down the nation’s leading scorer, Markus Howard.

Morsell played an integral role in holding Howard to just six points on 1-for-12 from the field and 0-for-6 from three. The outing was Howard’s worst performance since early March, and Morsell’s stifling defense was the main reason why.

“It started with Darryl, his intensity defensively,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said his team’s 21-point victory. “Darryl set the tone. He did a great job. I was really proud of Darryl.”

Morsell finished the holiday tournament averaging 11 points and nine rebounds per game for the Terps. He was named to the All-Tournament Team as a result, and after three nationally televised games, Morsell showed he’s the spark Maryland needed to play its most complete game of the season.

“With this team, I know if I bring it defensively we’ll be able to get out and run and I’ll be able to use my athleticism,” Morsell said after the win over the Golden Eagles.

Morsell started and played 32 minutes against Marquette on Sunday. While he began the game on Howard, Morsell did receive help guarding from other Terps when Maryland switched on screens. However, Morsell guarded Howard tight throughout the majority of the game and made life a nightmare for a player that scored 51 points in the semifinals of the Orlando Invitational, 40 in the quarterfinals, and is still averaging 26.0 points per game even after his lackluster performance against the Terps.

“My goal was to make it tough for [Howard],” Morsell said. “I knew what he was capable of coming into the game from his other two outings in this tournament, but I just tried to make it tough for him, contest every shot, use my size, use my length to try and get physical with him. But it was a complete team effort.”

Not only did Morsell’s high-energy performance on both ends of the floor help Maryland play its best game of the season thus far, it also helped the Terps send a statement to poll voters. With several teams ranked ahead of the Terps dropping a game within the past week, Maryland jumped up two spots in the latest Associated Press poll and is now a top-3 team nationally.

But Morsell’s role for the Terps extends beyond being a tough-minded Baltimore product who can do a little bit of everything on the court, he’s also an upperclassman that’s charged with keeping Maryland’s less-experienced players humble and hungry.

“[Winning the Orlando Invitational] was big for us, especially for the young guys, but for us older guys, we know it’s a long season,” Morsell said. “We have to get right back into the gym when we get back. We’ve got Big Ten play coming up. We’ve got the ACC-Big Ten Challenge coming up. So just for everybody to see how talented we really are, that we’re playing together, and playing within our game is good for us, but we know the season is long and we’ve got to keep going.”

In 25.5 minutes per game through eight games this season, Morsell has done anything the Terps have needed him to do. He’s averaging 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for Maryland so far this year.

He might not have the preseason accolades or volume of stats that make him a household name in college hoops, but it could be argued that Morsell is the most well-rounded player on one of the nation’s best teams. The definition of a typical glue guy, an important of a role as any in basketball, Morsell is the only Terp averaging at least 45 percent shooting from the field, 75 percent from the free-throw line, and 35 percent from three this season.