COLLEGE PARK, MD — After a valiant comeback effort fell just short last Friday in its loss to No. 15 Marquette, Maryland men’s basketball bounced back in historic fashion on Tuesday night.
The Terps cruised from start to finish in a 108-37 win over Canisius at the XFINITY Center.
The 71-point margin of victory was Maryland’s second largest in school history and largest since beating North Texas by 75 in 1998.
Dropping such a highly-contested game Friday helped Maryland grow and bounce back in Tuesday’s blowout.
“It made us grow. It’s good that it’s early in the season,” guard Selton Miguel said.
The Terps dominated right from the opening tipoff, never giving Canisius even a glimmer of hope.
Notably, Tuesday was the first time this season that Maryland coach Kevin Willard made a change to his starting five, as Rodney Rice got the nod over Deshawn Harris-Smith. The sophomore had struggled offensively so far this season, averaging just six points through the first four games.
“We’re able to space the floor out a little bit better,” Willard said. “Rodney is obviously a very willing shooter where Deshawn is a much more willing passer.”
Rice had a solid evening, scoring 13 points and assisting three times in his first start. Alongside Rice, Miguel led the charge early, scoring six of Maryland’s first 10 points.
Miguel later tacked on a triple, as he had 13 points before the half was over. That mark was second amongst all Terps through the opening 20 minutes.
Julian Reese had 14 points and 10 rebounds by the break — his first double-double of the season. Reese’s 14 also matched Canisius’ team scoring total in the opening half.
All but one Terp who saw action in the first half scored at least four points. Many of these easy baskets came off of turnovers, including two shot clock violations and a 10-second violation. In the first half alone, Maryland scored 29 points off of 15 Golden Griffin turnovers.
Canisius went just 5-for-22 from the field during the opening two minutes and at one point was shooting under 15%. Dominance on both sides of the ball led to a massive 59-14 Maryland lead at halftime.
Maryland’s dominance continued after the break. The Terps scored nine straight points to begin play before Canisius coach Jim Christian was forced to call another timeout.
Before seven minutes had even elapsed in the second half, all five Maryland starters reached double-figures. In total, seven Terps finished with double-digit points — a feat Maryland last achieved in 1995.
Reese led all scorers with 20 points, the second time he’s reached that mark this year. He also led the Terps with 12 rebounds, for his season high thus far. Willard said that in this week’s practices he emphasized the importance of getting Reese paint touches early on.
“We went into Julian because we just didn’t get him the ball enough [Friday],” Willard said. “We watched film on Sunday about getting the basketball into Julian.”
With Tuesday night’s game in hand so early, Willard was able to get several reserve players in the game early. Conversely, Willard’s starters got extra rest.
Derik Queen and Reese combined to play just 10 minutes in the second half. Willard repeatedly emphasized the importance of limiting the starters’ minutes during these early-season non-conference games.
Walk-ons Ben Murphy and Lukas Sotell checked in for the final few minutes of action, much to the delight of the XFINITY Center crowd. The Maryland bench erupted when Murphy knocked down a three, capping a dominant Terps win.
With its five-game homestand complete, Maryland travels to Newark, NJ to take on Villanova on Sunday in a neutral site matchup. Jack Susanin and Ryan Martin will be on the call for WMUC Sports Radio at 1:00 p.m.
