Maryland closed out a three-game home stand with a 103-76 win over Rider. The Terps were led by senior guard Jahmir Young and junior big man Julian Reese, as each scored a team-high 22 points in the win. Reese added a game-high 12 rebounds for his third straight double-double and the 11th of his career.
The Terps have now won 15 straight home game dating back to last season. They will open Big Ten play on the road at Indiana on Friday night.
Below are three takeaways from the win.
Geronimo role in offense continues to grow
For a third straight game Jordan Geronimo was in the starting lineup and for a third straight game the Terps got increased offensive production out of the Indiana transfer.
Coming off of a 14-point effort in the Terps' win over South Alabama, Geronimo bested that Tuesday night versus Rider, scoring a season-high 15 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field. His only two misses on the night came from the free throw line, where he was 3-of-5.
While the overall stat line wasn't as impressive as the six rebound, three assist and two steal effort versus South Alabama, Geronimo did manage a rebound, an assist and a couple of steals versus Rider. He was also one of only three double-figure scorers versus the Broncs on Tuesday night.
Geronimo seems to be finding his role and rounding into form just ahead of the Terps' Big Ten opener versus his old team, Indiana. Friday night's game in Bloomington is likely to mean just a little bit more for the redshirt junior as Maryland looks to open league play with a road win.
Kaiser finds form from three
The Terps finally seemed to find their mojo from behind the arc Tueday night versus Rider, knocking down a season-high eight threes in the win over the Broncs. Perhaps equally as important, the Terps managed to knock down those eight threes on just 20 attempts for the highest three-point percentage of the season, also.
A big reason for Maryland's success shooting from three against Rider was freshman wing Jamie Kaiser Jr., who knocked down two early triples for six first-half points that hopefully helped him gain some much needed confidence heading into league play. It was Kaiser's first game of his Maryland career with multiple made threes as he entered the game shooting just 13 percent from beyond the arc.
The Terps have to do a better job of shooting the three and need to get more production from Kaiser heading into league play, so Tuesday night's performance was promising with the Hoosiers on deck.
Free throw shooting a concern
If you were to do a quick glance of the Rider box score and were to see that leading scorers Young, Reese and Geronimo finished a combined 23-of-29 from the free throw line, you'd probably think everything is fine. But despite the Terps' three double-figure scorers combining to shoot 79 percent from the stripe, Maryland managed to only shoot 29-of-45 (64.4%) as a team.
On the season, the Terps are now shooting just 67.9 percent from the charity stripe through seven games. In a three-point loss to UAB in Asheville, the Terps were 13-of-20 from the free throw line. Misses from the line can cost teams wins, especially in league play where games are typically much tighter.
One player in particular that really needs to get better from the charity stripe is freshman guard DeShawn Harris-Smith. A big, physical guard known for his ability to get into the paint and draw contact, he's likely to see his fair share of whistles this season. But since coming back from Asheville, where he was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, he's just 3-of-15 from the stripe since during Maryland's three-game home stand. And free throw shooting isn't likely to get any easier in Assembly Hall.
Not a Terrapin Sports Report subscriber? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community. Already an insider? Join the conversation on the TERPS INSIDER PREMIUM FORUM!
