Maryland Basketball: Terrapins Escape UMBC Upset

Maryland defeated in-state foe UMBC 66-45 in their last game of 2017, and their final non-conference game of this season.

Things started off very sluggish for both teams in the first half. UMBC came into this game leading the nation in three-point shots made per game with 12.4, but only shot 21.1 percent int he first half.

Their four made threes however helped give them an edge on Maryland, who managed to shoot just 23 percent from the field as a team in the first half. Another common theme from Mark Turgeon and his team this year are turnovers, which was a key in their poor first half. The team combined for 10 total turnovers, including three from Kevin Huerter and three from Bruno Fernando as well.

Luckily, Huerter and the rest of the team woke up during halftime, and used the second half to blow UMBC out of the water.

Huerter would score 16 points in the second half alone, including four makes from beyond the arc. Anthony Cowan also added 11 points in the second frame, which helped Maryland secure this last non-conference win.

After the game, Mark Turgeon noted that maybe giving his players five days off between games contributed to the lack luster first half. He continued on by labeling this game “one of [the] worst first halfs” experienced since he took the job in College Park.

With this win, Maryland moves to 12-3 on the season, and will bring a 1-1 Big Ten record to Xfinity Center on January 2nd as they battle Penn State to kick off 2018.

Notes of Interest:

• This was Maryland’s first game since announcing that Justin Jackson would miss the rest of this season with a Torn Labrum. He will be having surgery on the injury per the coaching staff. This game allowed Turgeon to get an idea of what lineups he can use moving forward.
• Ivan Bender suffered a leg injury and was helped to the locker room, and did not even return to the bench during the rest of the game. If this injury is serious, prepare to see more Michal Cekovsky as a backup to Bruno Fernando.