Maryland snapped a three-game losing skid in dominant fashion Tuesday night, beating UMBC, 92-68. Senior point guard Jahmir Young led four Terps in double-figure scoring with a game-high 20 points, while junior big man Julian Reese recorded his ninth career double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and a couple of blocks for good measure.
The Terps will return to action on Saturday when they host South Alabama.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
Floodgates open on offense
After averaging just 58 points per game through the first four games and failing to reach 70 points during that span, the Terps' offense finally exploded Tuesday night inside Xfinity Center. Their 57 points at the half were the most they have scored in an opening half in nearly 14 years and more than they scored for the entire game versus Villanova.
Donta Scott, who had the game's first basket, scored a season-high 14 points on a fairly efficient 6-of-11 from the field that included a pair of made threes.
Jahmir Young reached the 20-point mark for the first time this season and looked like the all-conference guard from a season ago, regularly getting to the foul line where he was 9-of-11 and coming up with four steals.
Julian Reese used his size and strength to finish with 15 points. He was able to finish inside over smaller defenders and drew plenty of fouls, finishing 5-of-8 from the charity stripe.
DeShawn Harris-Smith relentlessly attacked the basket en route to 12 points and eight rebounds. It was Harris-Smith's third double-figure scoring game as the Terps look for that fourth reliable scorer.
It goes without saying, but the Terps will go as far as Young, Reese and Scott can take them this season and they needed this kind of performance to build their confidence.
Kaiser, Geronimo break out
After the Terps' loss to Villanova, head coach Kevin Willard said the Terps were still searching for a fifth starter. Among those who he had tried at the wing were freshman Jamie Kaiser Jr. and Indiana transfer Jordan Geronimo.
It was Geronimo who got the start Tuesday night and he delivered in the first half, knocking down a three, getting to the free throw line where he was 4-for-4 and pulling down six rebounds. His energy and athleticism were on full display. The only negative was that he picked up three fouls and would eventually foul out of the game in the second half. His final stat line was 9 points, 8 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.
Kaiser also got off to a fast start versus UMBC, with a steal and a slam that seemed to really get his team going. That was the first of two steals and slams in the opening half for the freshman.
Kaiser then sent the Terps into the locker room on a high note, as he corralled his third steal of the game and calmly hit a half court heave at the buzzer to give him seven points at the break.
Like Geronimo, he was rather quite in the second half, but he finished the night with 8 points and a couple of rebounds.
Both Kaiser and Geronimo really needed break out games as the Terps were desperate to get more production from the three spot coming into UMBC. Hopefully they can both build off of their performances moving froward.
Three-point shooting still an issue
When you come into a game shooting just 22 percent from beyond the arc, 6-for-21 (29%) doesn't look half bad. And while the Terps got a couple of big threes from Scott, overall, the Terps' outside shooting left a lot to be desired.
While Kaiser hit the half court buzzer beater to end the first half, that was his only make of the night and he had several three-point attempts that missed badly. Likewise, fellow freshman Harris-Smith, who was 0-for-3 from beyond the arc had a couple of attempts that didn't even come close to going in.
Between Harris-Smith, Kaiser and Geronimo, they likely need one of them to just be a good enough three-point shooter to keep defenses honest. If not, teams are simply going to collapse in the paint and dare the Terps to take outside shots while clogging the lane for Young.
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