COLLEGE PARK, MD — After a last-minute, come-from-behind victory over Villanova on Sunday, Maryland men’s basketball cruised to a 91-67 home victory over Bucknell (4-4) on Wednesday night.
The Terps (6-1) took control early, relying on their three-point shooting to establish a 15-2 lead just five minutes into the game. Maryland made nine triples in the opening 20 minutes — tied for the most in an entire game this season.
Even with the high volume of made threes, the Terps still shot an extremely efficient 52.9 percent from beyond the arc in the opening half. Despite a few missed threes early in some possessions, Maryland coach Kevin Willard was happy with his team’s overall shot selection.
“You’re better off jacking up a three than … [having] a great possession and turning the basketball [over],” Willard said.
With this mindset, five different players drilled three-pointers in the first half, including Selton Miguel, who led the way with a trio of triples.
After beginning the season hampered by a lingering injury, Miguel has started to play to his standard in the last few games. The fifth-year guard has scored at least nine points in three of his last four games — including Wednesday night’s win.
Even Julian Resse — the forward who hadn’t attempted a three-pointer since March of 2022 — hoisted a shot from beyond the arc in the first half. He couldn’t connect.
Thanks to its prolific shooting, Maryland headed to the locker room after 20 minutes of play with a comfortable 51-28 lead.
The hot shooting continued into the second half as the Terps knocked down back-to-back threes in the midst of a 10-0 scoring run early in the second half. Maryland finished 12-for-31 from deep on the night, by far its best mark of the season.
While it was Miguel leading the charge in the first half, Tafara Gapare stepped up after the break. The junior Georgia Tech transfer knocked down a pair of threes in the second half.
Gapare later showcased his scoring versatility as well.
With just over two minutes remaining, the Maryland bench erupted as Gapare leapt through the air and emphatically slammed a dunk through contact, earning himself an and-1 opportunity. Gapare finished the game with a season-high 19 points, leading all Terps scorers.
“Find what I do best and just keep doing the same thing every day,” Gapare said on his breakout performance. “It’s probably the best [dunk] I’ve had in game and practice,”
To no surprise, freshman phenom Derik Queen also continued his stellar start to the season.
After his 22-point, 11-rebound performance against Villanova, the Big Ten Freshman of the Week Queen stayed hot on Wednesday. He finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
For the Bison, Ruot Bijiek paced the team in the scoring department. The junior forward was averaging under 10 points per game prior to Wednesday night, though he finished with 20 and added four rebounds in a dynamic showing.
With the game in hand, Willard was able to send the walk-ons in as time winded down, much to the crowd’s delight. For the second consecutive home game, Ben Murphy capped off a dominant Terps win with a score.
“This is a good Bucknell team,” Willard said. “They made it a game in the second half.”
After a few days off for Thanksgiving, Maryland will host Alcorn State (0-6) on Sunday. Ben Geffner and Ryan Martin will be on the call for WMUC Sports Radio at noon.
