COLLEGE PARK, Md. — No. 7 Maryland worked out some kinks early and had to adjust to its opposition’s fast pace Nov. 5 but ultimately put Holy Cross away in its season opener, 95-71, marking the most points scored by a Terps team in a season opener in the Mark Turgeon era and most by the program in an opener since 2011 when they scored 105 against Seattle University.

“They came out playing fast, and the pace that they were playing, I don’t think we were ready for it immediately,” Maryland junior guard Darryl Morsell said after the game. “It took a little time to get adjusted to. But once we got adjusted and started switching screens, we were able to get stops and get out and run.”

The Terps went with a starting lineup of Anthony Cowan Jr., Eric Ayala, Aaron Wiggins, Ricky Lindo Jr., and Jalen Smith on Tuesday night against the Crusaders, but it was Morsell who provided the biggest spark for the team off the bench.

Morsell finished with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals Tuesday night in 23 minutes of action.

“I’m a basketball player,” Morsell said. “I’m going to come in and help the team win in any way that I can and just do whatever I have to do to win. I saw that the starters needed a spark, needed something to get us going, and I just tried to provide that.”

Long-range shooting wasn’t working in Maryland’s favor Tuesday night, as the Terps shot just 5-for-27 from downtown. But Maryland was able to leverage its size advantage and outscore Holy Cross in the paint 64-34.

Four Terps scored in double figures Tuesday night, led by sophomore forward Jalen ‘Stix’ Smith, who finished with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

“He’s growing in front of everybody’s eyes,” Cowan said. “It just comes with him maturing and trusting the process. He understands that the game isn’t always going to go his way, but he also understands that we need him as a team. So he understands that and he’s just maturing.”

Maryland also relied heavily on its defense, which forced 14 turnovers, blocked eight shots, and held the Crusaders to just 26 percent shooting from three.

“We really wanted to lock down and guard,” Cowan said. “I don’t think we did our best tonight, but we really didn’t have too much film on them.”

Morsell and Smith were joined as double-digit scorers by Cowan and Ayala, who each scored 12 points. However, it was not an overly impressive offensive performance from the Terps, who struggled to score from the perimeter.

But despite a cold shooting night, Turgeon was pleased with how his team found other ways to score and believes plenty of positives can be drawn from the Terps’ performance Tuesday night.

“I loved the pace of the game,” Turgeon said. “We scored 95 points and we were 5-for-27 from three. We didn’t shoot the ball very well; we missed a lot of open ones. Probably the thing I was most disappointed in offensively was our shot selection. But a good win for us. There are no easy wins in college basketball and our guys had to fight and got better and we got to play everybody, which is always fun.”

Although the season starts with a 24-point win for the Terps, Turgeon sees plenty for his team to work on as they prepare to host Oakland Nov. 9.

“We know we have to get better in our half-court offense; we know we have to get better in our half-court defense, but it’s Nov. 5 and we never start a season this early, so we have a lot of time to get better,” Turgeon said.

Holy Cross freshman guard Drew Lowder led all scorers Tuesday night with 24 points on 10-for-19 shooting. He led an offensive attack that shot 45 percent from the floor against the Terps.

“[Lowder] was really good,” Cowan said. “He was really quick. He really played tonight, a lot of respect for him.”

Morsell said after the game that is was a nice feeling to play against another team for a change. The Terps will get plenty of that moving forward in a year where hopes are high and the sky is seemingly the limit for Maryland.

“This year could be a lot of fun is we just stay focused, stay selfless and keep getting better,” Turgeon said. “We have a lot of talent so it could be a lot of fun.”