Maryland men’s basketball defeated Alcorn State 105-65 on Tuesday to maintain its undefeated home record this season. The victory gave the Terps their 17th straight home victory and their first 40-point victory over a Division 1 opponent since 2017.
Even though Maryland (6-4) won easily and without much competition, it did demonstrate 3-point shooting efficiency, which is something that most supporters have been pleading for. The Terps significantly improved from their season average of 22.4% entering the game to a season-high 46.7% from beyond the arc.
Head coach Kevin Willard of Maryland stated, “We’ve been able to get in a rhythm, we’ve been able to put a lot of work in, and we’ve been able to have some time off.” “I knew it was only a matter of time until we start shooting the ball better.”
Leading the way, Jamie Kaiser Jr. finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds after going 3 of 7 from beyond the three-point line.
DeShawn Harris-Smith, a fellow freshman, had trouble scoring in the first half, but his hustle and athleticism created havoc on defense. On one of his three first-half steals, he dived in on Willard by mistake. Willard spent the remainder of the game coaching, mostly from the bench or by leaning on the scorer’s table.
However, Harris-Smith found offensive success in the second half, making three of his four 3-point tries. Before the game, he was 2 of 22 from deep.
Harris-Smith stated,“Me and coach Willard [have] been working out [at] 8:30 every morning,” “He’s been helping me work on my shot. So, he told me, ‘We not gonna work out for you not to shoot in the game.’”
The Terps’ ability to shoot 3-pointers was further enhanced by Jahari Long and Noah Batchelor, who made four of their six attempts overall.
As Alcorn State (1-9) only possesses one player who is taller than 6-foot-8, the Terps quickly used their physical advantages. They shot 11 of 14 from the free throw line and scored 18 of their 47 points in the first half in the paint.
Six of Maryland’s first eight points came from Jordan Geronimo, who is shooting 7.1% from three this season. His lone miss came from beyond the arc. Geronimo had two blocks and 12 points at the end of the game.
Julian Reese and Jahmir Young, the two stars of Maryland, led the team in scoring once more with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Young added seven assists, and Reese chipped in with seven rebounds.
As the clock was running out and the outcome was certain, Willard substituted walk-on Ben Murphy, who turned 21 on Tuesday. And with 1:11 left, Lukas Sotell also made his way onto the court, following constant chants from the crowd. With 23.9 seconds remaining, Alcorn State head coach Landon Bussie was ejected after receiving his second technical foul, and Murphy made both of his free-throw attempts.
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Kaiser discovered his stroke. Kaiser has made five of his fourteen 3-point tries over the past two games, making him Maryland’s most productive 3-point shooter. For the Terps, he is giving them much-needed spacing. This season, only Young has shot more than 30% from three point range.
The Maryland bench performed well. In addition to Kaiser, Long, Batchelor, and Caelum Swanton-Rodger, off the bench, there were contributions from Jonathan Lamothe and him. Long added four rebounds, four assists, and three steals as Maryland scored a season-high 46 bench points, surpassing the previous high of 29 points.
“I’m beating the dead horse by saying the schedule was absolutely horrific, and that’s my fault,” Willard said. “If this was the second or third game of the season, I think this is what we would have been seeing all along from the young guys [and] from the guys coming off the bench.”
The ball was handled by the Terps. Maryland took advantage of the Braves’ errors, committing just eight turnovers on Tuesday—their second-lowest total of the season—to score 33 points off of their 20 turnovers.
