Maryland Basketball: Terps Jump Over Jackson State
Maryland used a stronger first half and held Jackson State to under 50 points in a 76-45 victory Monday night at Xfinity Center.
The Terps dominated the interior and outrebounded Jackson State 44-27. Maryland had 16 offensive rebounds which was three more than Jackson State had in defensive rebounds. Maryland held a sizable 24-15 advantage in second-chance points.
Freshman Bruno Fernando got the start down low for Maryland and finished with a career-high 18 points on 7-9 shooting from the floor. Fernando has quickly become a crowd favorite at Xfinity Center. His energy he brings on both ends of the floor is electric. Fernando finished off a couple alley-oops in the first half. He also recorded six rebounds and three blocks.
The other three Maryland players to finish in double figures scoring were Kevin Huerter, Justin Jackson and Jared Nickens.
Huerter finished with 14 points on 5-8 shooting from the floor. He also knocked down one three-pointer on three attempts from beyond the arc. Huerter continued his streak of hitting at least one shot from deep in all five Maryland games so far this season.
Jackson finished with all ten of his points coming courtesy of beyond the arc or the free-throw line. Jackson sunk three three-pointers on eight attempts. He had only hit one shot from deep in Maryland’s first four games of the season. Head Coach Mark Turgeon and Maryland fans hope this game will be a positive sign for Jackson finding his shooting stroke and rhythm from deep as tough games loom ahead against Syracuse and Purdue in a few weeks.
Nickens provided an offensive spark off of the bench and finished with 14 points. He shot 4-8 from beyond the arc. Nickens produced his second double-digit scoring outing of the season. This is a welcome sign for Maryland fans because he had just one game all of last season in which he tallied double-digit points.
Anthony Cowan surprisingly finished with zero points in this contest. He was 0-5 from the floor and 0-3 from deep. He did notch a season high six assists to go along with three rebounds and two turnovers.
The most concerning thing for Maryland from this game was freshman Darryl Morsell’s injury early in the first half. Coach Turgeon classified the guard’s injury as a slight hamstring strain, and labeling him as day-to-day. Morsell left the game and did not return after playing just six minutes.
Up next, Maryland will travel to Niceville, Florida as part of the Emerald Coast Classic. The Terps begin play with a match-up against St. Bonaventure on Friday evening.