The Terps had their best offensive output of the season Tuesday night, beating Alcorn State by a final score of 105-65, topping the century mark for the second time. Junior big man Julian Reese led six Terps in double-figure scoring with a game-high 15 points. He added a game-high seven rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal for good measure.
The Terps have now won 17 straight home games dating back to last season. They are back in action next Tuesday, Dec. 19 when they host Nicholls State.
Below are three takeaways from the win.
Raining threes
The Terps had their best night of the season shooting from beyond the arc Tuesday, finishing 14-of-30 (46.7%) from deep.
Coming into Tuesday night's game versus Alcorn State, the most threes the Terps had made in a game was eight versus Rider.
Freshman wing Jamie Kaiser Jr. and sophomore wing Noah Batchelor combined to make the Terps' first four triples of the game, each knocking down two threes, including on back-to-back possessions early in the first half.
Jahari Long and Donta Scott also had made threes in the first half to give the Terps six made threes at the intermission. That gave the Terps more made threes in the opening half than they scored in all but two other full games this season.
The Terps entered Tuesday night's game as one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country, but managed to shoot just shy of 50 percent versus the Braves. The question now becomes whether or not they can carry that outside shooting touch with them the rest of the season.
Freshmen on fire
Kaiser came into Tuesday night's game having score a career-high 10 points in the Terps' last outing. He was 2-of-7 from beyond the arc versus Penn State before fouling out late.
Versus Alcorn State, Kaiser made a career-high three triples in a single game, going 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. He looked confident shooting the ball, showing no hesitation when open from deep. He also did a good job of getting to the free throw line, finishing 3-of-5 from the charity stripe. And of course he once again played with his trademark intensity on the defensive end and finished with five rebounds.
Fellow freshman guard DeShawn Harris-Smith also got in on the three-point act, knocking down a trio of triples in the second half. Like Kaiser, he did a good job of getting to the free throw line, going 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. And like Kaiser he brought the intensity on defense, finishing with three steals and a block. He also finished with five assists.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the play of the Terps' third freshman guard Jahn Lamothe, who not only scored his first field goal of his college career, but finished in double-figure scoring with 10 points. He got in on the three-point act as well, going 2-for-3 from deep. Ealso added three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block for an impressive showing on his birthday.
The win over Alcorn State marked the first time this season that Maryland's trio of heralded freshman guards all flashed their potential on the same night, giving Terp fans hope moving forward.
Turning turnovers into points
Perhaps the most eye-opening stat from Tuesday night's win was the 20 turnovers committed by the Braves that led directly to 33 points for the Terps.
Yes, you read that correctly, 33 points!
While the Terps had some lapses in defensive intensity in the first half, they still managed to force 12 Alcorn State turnovers which led to 18 points for Maryland.
The Terps ratcheted up the defensive intensity in the second half, allowing them to shoot just 39.4 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes after the Braves shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half.
The improved defensive pressure along with the eight second-half turnovers forced by the Terps that led to 15 points helped them pull away early in the second stanza as they cruised to victory.
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