Maryland moved to 6-0 to open up the Kevin Willard era, defeating Juan Dixon's Coppin State team 95-79 in a game in which the Terps were led by sophomore forward Julian Reese, who set a new career-high with 24 points. He added 10 rebounds to finish with his second double-double of the season.
The Terps struggled defensively out of the gate, but were able to eventually pull away from the red-hot shooting Eagles in the second half.
The Terps will begin arguably the toughest two-week stretch of their schedule starting next Tuesday, Nov. 29 when they travel to Louisville where they will face the Cardinals as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Here are three takeaways from the second win of the season.
Reese continues to flourish
On a night in which his teammates struggled to get it going out of the gate, Reese carried the Terps for the first 20 minutes versus Coppin State, scoring 22 points while going a perfect 9-of-9 from the field, helping Maryland to a 47-36 lead at the intermission. But while Reese dominated offensively, it was perhaps his defense that was equally as impressive (and important) for the Terps. The 6-foot-9 Baltimore native pulled down 8 rebounds and blocked two shots in the opening stanza, giving the Terps a lift defensively when it seemed like many of his teammates simply didn't have their usual energy on the defensive end of the floor.
Reese finished with a new career-high 24 points and added 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Foul trouble did keep Reese off the floor for much of the second half, as he only played 8 minutes and fouled out of the game. Given the Terps' lack of depth behind Reese, they will need him to continue to put up big numbers throughout the season and stay out of foul trouble.
Turkey hangover for the Terps
While Julia Reese was was dominant in the first 20 minutes, the rest of his teammates seemed to really struggle, both shooting the ball and lacking energy.
Donta Scott, who averaged 24.5 points in the Terps' two wins in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off only scored 3 points in the first half, while fellow starter Don Carey was scoreless in the opening 20 minutes. Excluding Julian Reese, the rest of the Terps shot just 9-of-26 (34.6%) from the field in the first half. But even more concerning than the poor shooting, Reese's teammates simply seemed to lack energy, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Luckily, the Terps seemed to find that energy as a team in the second half and were able to pull away as the game went on.
Trio of Terps lead the way with 20-plus points
On a night in which the three-point shot was simply not falling for the Terps as a team, Reese used his size advantage to get easy buckets in the paint, senior guard Jahmir Young was able to create for himself off the dribble and senior wing Hakim Hart showed his versatility to score in a variety of ways, as all three went for 20-plus points in the win.
It is a rare feat that three Terps score 20 or more points in a single game. Just how rare? The last time it occurred was during the 2001-2002 national championship season when Coppin State head coach Juan Dixon (23 points), Chris Wilcox (21 points) and Lonny Baxter (20 points) accomplished the feat in the final game played a Cole Field House, a 112-92 win over the Virginia Cavaliers.
While the current edition of the Terps might lack depth, Maryland's starting five have all shown they are capable of a scoring outburst on any given night and with all five players on the floor being a threat to score when they touch the ball it makes them very difficult to guard.
