COLLEGE PARK, MD — Julian Reese planted his feet with Maryland’s basket to his back. The senior forward was the last line of defense as Saint Francis broke the Terps’ press and tested the senior forward near the right elbow. With the play in front of him, Reese fought for a steal before advancing the ball up court to sophomore guard Rodney Rice.
Rice didn’t even need a dribble once he took in the pass. The Virginia Tech transfer drew contact and finished a right-handed, and-one layup.
Rice’s three-point play cashed in a 10-0 first-half run for Maryland, one of many scoring streaks the Terps frequented on Tuesday night. Maryland scored its most points in a game since 2005 with a 111-57 win over Saint Francis.
“We’ve been trending that way for a while,” coach Kevin Willard said of Maryland’s scoring. “Coming off of a really tough loss at Purdue, we took some time off and got these guys into a rhythm.”
The result wasn’t as clean as the final score indicated.
The Red Flash’s backcourt contained Maryland (9-2) early from behind the arc, holding the Terps to just one three-point make on its first five attempts.
Led by the freshman guard duo of Juan Cranford, Jr. (21 points, 8-11 shooting) and Jeremy Clayville, Saint Francis (4-8) hung tough and forced five lead changes by the under 12 timeout.
Neither team even mustered a two score lead until a Selton Miguel triple put Maryland in control nearly 14 minutes in. The shot gave Maryland a seven point lead, an advantage the Terps wouldn’t concede for the rest of the game.
Miguel’s three-pointer didn’t just spark the team; it ignited his own lethal shooting.
The Southern Florida transfer scored 17 points in the first half to notch a season-high before the Terps headed to the break.
Miguel’s season-high nearly turned into a career-high in the second half. He finished with 24 points, a point off of tying his personal best, and was Maryland’s leading scorer in a game for the first time this season.
“This is what we saw on film with him at South Florida,” Willard said of Miguel. “His work ethic has been great and you’re just seeing the result now of things just getting a little bit more comfortable.”
“I hit my first shot and just kept getting open,” Miguel said. “Coach Willard just told me to be more aggressive and I did that tonight.”
Rice’s aforementioned and-one late in the first half gave Maryland its 16th double-digit run of the year. That mark matched the team’s season total from last year in less than a third of the games played.
The Terps piled on 20 more points over the next five minutes thanks to a bombardment of three pointers. The late offensive onslaught powered Maryland to a 55-29 lead at the break.
Miguel played a sizable role in the Terps’ scoring stretch to end the half. That outburst translated into a hot shooting start for Maryland to begin the second half.
The Terps pulled away from Saint Francis late as they shot 64 percent from three-point range in the final twenty minutes.
Maryland finished the game with 15 makes from deep, its second-most single-game total in school history. The Terps came up just short of the 17 triples they made against Missouri Kansas-City in 2006.
Rice (16 points, 6-11 shooting), graduate guard Jay Young, and junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie paced Maryland’s three point barrage. The trio each made three from behind the arc.
“We’ve really hurt ourselves from an analytic standpoint … these guys understand the analytics now and what every shot means,” Willard said. “[They know] the ball is going to eventually come back to you, so just be patient.”
Maryland’s entire team played loose in the blowout second half.
Every member of the Terps’ bench flew out of their seats when junior forward Tafara Gapare tossed an emphatic alley-oop down the left wing to fifth year forward Jordan Geronimo, with the game winding down.
Minutes later, Gapare had the assist repaid when Jay Young launched him a long cross court alley-oop from behind the right-wing three-point arc.
“Everyone can play, everyone can contribute,” Rodney Rice said. “And we’ve built that chemistry along the way. It’s still early in the season … but we’re at a good start.”
Maryland next plays on Saturday in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Terps take on Syracuse in the Gotham Classic at noon. Tyler Lochte and Jack Bowman will be at the Barclays Center for the call on WMUC Sports.
