The Terps came out and dominated Coppin State in their final non-conference tuneup of the season, despite leading scorer Jahmir Young sidelined and in street clothes, beating the Eagles by a final score of 75-53. Junior big man Julian Reese led the way for the Terps with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds for his 6th double-double of the season. Jahari Long scored 15 points starting in place of Young, while Donta Scott added 12 points to finish in double-figure scoring for a third straight game.
Thursday night's win was the Terps' 19th straight home victory. They will host No. 1 Purdue next Tuesday, Jan. 2, as they look to knock off the Boilermakers at home for a second straight season.
Below are three takeaways from the win.
Long makes most of opportunity
With Terps starting point guard and leading scorer Jahmir Young on the sideline and in street clothes as he recovers from an illness, it was senior backup guard Jahari Long who got the nod in his place.
Long wasted little time getting into the scoring column, first knocking down a two-point jumper before knocking down his first three-point attempt of the game to give the Terps an early 7-4 lead.
The former Seton Hall guard showed he could do more than just score, however, out-hustling several Coppin State players for an offensive rebound and also showing off his defensive prowess with a steal in the first half.
Long picked up right where he left off to start the second half, again knocking down an early three and a layup for another quick five points.
When it was all said and done, Long finished the night with a season-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, three rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Long has proven that he's a capable lead guard who has probably exceeded expectations this season. It will be interesting to see if Thursday night's performance earns him more playing time moving forward.
Big man Swanton-Rodger surprises off the bench
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night came from sophomore Canadian 7-foot center Caelum Swanton-Rodger.
After fouling out in just four minutes of action without recording a single stat at UCLA, Swanton-Rodger bounced back Thursday at home versus the Eagles, scoring nine points and adding five rebounds in just 15 minutes of action.
Swanton-Rodger first got into the scoring column with an aggressive dunk through contact in the first half, as he was able to make a free throw for an old fashioned three-point play. He was physical and aggressive throughout the game, finishing with multiple dunks and remaining active on the boards throughout. He also managed to stay out of foul trouble for the most part, committing just two fouls while on the court.
Maryland desperately needs another big other than Reese to step up and Swanton-Rodger being able to give head coach Kevin Willard some solid minutes at the five during league play would be huge for the Terps moving forward.
Reese dominates Coppin State....again
Ask Terps junior big man who his favorite team to play is, and there's a good chance he is going to say the Coppin State Eagles.
After scoring a career-high 24 points while adding 10 rebounds and two blocks versus the Eagles last season, Reese dominated once again on Thursday night, scoring 18 points while adding 10 rebounds and three blocks the second time around versus Coppin.
Thursday night marked Reese's sixth double-double of the season and 13th of his Maryland career.
It was good to see Reese bounce back from a 1-point, 4-rebound effort at UCLA in which he fouled out after 23 minutes of action. He now has some positive momentum going into Tuesday night as he is set to go head-to-head with last season's national player of the year, Zach Edey.
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