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  • Maryland Men's Basketball Cruises Past Alcorn State, 96-58, Inside The Xfinity Center

Maryland Men's Basketball Cruises Past Alcorn State, 96-58, Inside The Xfinity Center

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Basketball

Maryland men's basketball cruised past Alcorn State, winning 96-58 on Sunday at XFINITY Center. The Terps (7-1) have won 21 consecutive home games against unranked non-conference foes.

Maryland won its fifth game by 30 or more points for the fifth time this season, doing so in just eight games. The last time the Terps had that many wins by 30 or more that early in the season was 1998-99, when the Terps won five of their first seven games by 30-plus points.

Derik Queen led all scorers with 20 points. He also tallied nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. It was his fourth 20-point game this season, which is tied with Rutgers' Dylan Harper for most by a freshman in Division I this season. He's just the third Maryland freshman with four 20-point games in a season since 2010-11 – and he's only in his eighth game. Melo Trimble was the last to do it with 10 in the 2014-15 season, joining Terrell Stoglin with four in 2010-11.

Julian Reese provided an all-around effort with 14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. He earned the 25th double-double of his career and his third of the season. Since 2010-11, Reese is tied with Bruno Fernando and Jordan Williams for most double-doubles for a Terp. Since 1996-97, he's tied for the fifth most.

Queen (8-of-8) and Reese (10-of-12) combined for 18-of-20 from the free-throw line as Maryland was 21-of-24 overall for 87.5 percent.

Selton Miguel had one of his best games as a Terp this far, scoring 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the three-point line. Rodney Rice added 12 points while handing out a career-high five assists, and DeShawn Harris-Smith recorded his first double-digit scoring game this season with 10 points to round out double-figure scoring factors.

Tafara Gapare also had a monster stat line of nine points, eight rebounds and six blocks (career-high). It was the most blocks in a game by a Terp since Reese had six against Nicholls State last season.

With the game tied at 20-20 with 8:42 left in the first half, the Terps used a 13-0 run to take control of the game late in the first half. The spurt expanded to 24-2 over a five-minute span to put the Terps ahead 44-22 with three minutes left in the first half. Four different players made a three-pointer in that run.

Alcorn State remains winless this season, falling to 0-9. Keionte Cornelius led the Braves with 12 points. The last time Maryland lost to an unranked non-conference opponent was Dec. 1, 2021, against Virginia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.


Coach Willard's Take
"We shot almost fifty-percent from three, so your ball movement looks a lot better when you have guys that can make shots. That was one of our issues last season. We were seventh in the country in open shots and we were 340th in making them. This year it's just different. We have Rodney, Selton, Ja'Kobi, and Jay all making shots. The ball movement is good and we are getting to them, but the biggest difference is our guys are making shots."

Breaking Down The Action

  • The Terps led 11-4 at the first media timeout. Four players entered the scoring column, and Julian Reese led the pack with four points — all coming from the free-throw line. 
  • Alcorn State sparked a 9-0 run to lead 13-11 at 13:03 in the first. At the second first-half media timeout, Maryland trailed 16-14. DeShawn Harris-Smith came off the bench to provide a quick three points. 
  • A layup by Rodney Rice at 9:19 restored the lead for the Terps at 20-18. Rice then drilled a 3-pointer to help key a 9-0 run heading into the third first-half media timeout. Maryland led 29-20. 
  • The run expanded to 24-2 over a five-minute span to put the Terps ahead 44-22 with three minutes left in the first half. Four players made a three-pointer in that run, and four tallied eight or more points. 
  • The Braves ignited a 9-0 run of their own before Selton Miguel nailed a 3-pointer to end it. The Terps led 48-31 at halftime, paced by Miguel's 11 points. 
  • Ja'Kobi Gillespie threw an alley-oop to Jay Young, which he threw down with a dunk. The Terps were rolling with a 55-32 advantage at the first second-half media timeout (17:44).  
  • Alcorn State responded with a 10-0 run to trail 58-44. However, a layup by Reese ended the run at 14:03. 
  • A 3-pointer by Malachi Palmer gave Maryland back a 20-point lead at 69-49. It later stretched its lead to the largest of the game. 
  • Maryland led by more than 30 after sparking a 23-2 run, leading to an Alcorn State timeout. It led 89-51 and cruised to victory the rest of the way. 

Series History 

  • In three games played, Maryland is 3-0 against Alcorn State and has scored over 100 points in each game. 
  • Maryland's record 87-game non-conference home win streak began with the 1989 meeting against Alcorn State. The streak eventually ended against Florida on Dec. 14, 2002. That streak lasted 4,732 days (nearly 13 years). 
  • In the 1989 meeting, Tony Massenburg led the Terps with 20 points. Jesse Martin and Jerrod Mustaf each had double-doubles with 17 points/10 rebounds and 14 points/10 rebounds, respectively. Seven players total reached double figures: Evers Burns (17), Teyon McCoy (16), Walt Williams (10) and Vince Broadnax (10). 

Up Next

  • Maryland opens Big Ten play with a game at XFINITY Center against Ohio State on Wednesday, Dec. 4. The game will tip at 6:30 and be broadcast on Big Ten Network and Maryland Sports Radio Network.