Maryland breaks out from long range, routs Alcorn State

Field Level Media|published: Tue 12th December, 21:42 2023

Dec 6, 2023; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Kevin Willard reacts during the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Xfinity Center. credits: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Freshman Jamie Kaiser Jr. scored a season-high 12 points as part of a balanced attack, helping Maryland break out of a shooting slump with a 105-65 victory over Alcorn State on Tuesday in College Park, Md.

Julian Reese contributed 15 points and seven rebounds and Jahmir Young had 13 points and seven assists as Maryland (6-4) won its second straight.

Jordan Geronimo and DeShawn Harris-Smith added 12 points apiece and Jahnathan Lamothe had 10 points for the Terrapins, who improved to 6-0 at home.

Maryland, which entered with the second-worst 3-point marksmanship in Division I at 22.4 percent, made 14 of 30 (46.7 percent) of its shots from deep. It was the most treys for the Terrapins in a game this season, as seven players connected from beyond the arc.

Kaiser and Harris-Smith both made a trio of 3-pointers. Lamothe, Jahari Long and Noah Batchelor each hit two treys. Harris-Smith had made just 2 of 22 attempts from deep this season prior to hitting 3 of 4 on Tuesday.

Maryland also used its depth and aggression, forcing 20 turnovers and outscoring Alcorn in points off the mistakes 33-8. The Terrapins also got 46 bench points compared to 24 for the Braves.

Byron Joshua scored 14 points, Dekedran Thorn added 13 points and Stephen Byard contributed 11 to pace Alcorn State (1-9), which lost its eighth straight, all on the road.

The frustration showed in the closing seconds as Braves coach Landon Bussie was ejected, picking up his second technical foul.

Thorn gave the Braves an early 7-4 lead with a 3-pointer, but the Terrapins responded with a 13-4 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Kaiser and Batchelor to take a 17-11 lead.

From there, Maryland led the rest of the way, though it took the Terrapins a while to pull away.

When Joshua made a driving three-point play, it sliced the deficit to 36-30 with 3:42 left in the first half.

Maryland answered with a 9-1 run as Donta Scott scored a basket and followed with a 3-pointer as the Terrapins were on their way to a 47-33 lead at the break.

Maryland removed all doubt when it scored 13 straight points early in the second half. Kaiser and Long highlighted the spree with 3-pointers as the Terrapins surged to a 75-46 lead.

—Field Level Media

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