Maryland basketball starts season with 76-61 win over Stony Brook

Maryland men’s basketball kicked off the season with a healthy win in Nassau Coliseum against Stony Brook, 76-61.

Justin Jackson scored the opening points of the Terps’ 2017-18 campaign and started his sophomore season on the right note, recording his third career double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Maryland finished with five players in double figures, with Anthony Cowan ending with a team-high 15 points to go with six rebounds and four assists on the night.

It took freshman Bruno Fernando a little while to settle in, with his first live action in months. But he made five of his first six shots and finished with 10 points in 13 minutes. Darryl Morsell continued to look college-ready, scoring four first-half points.

Dion Wiley started the season on a good note and made Maryland’s first shot from beyond the arc. Then the floodgates started to open. Huerter added another three soon after, then Anthony Cowan darted to the rim to give the Terps a 24-13 lead into the under-8 media timeout.

Fernando’s first career points came on an alley-oop from Cowan from out near half court to extend the lead to 28-13 with 5:49 left in the half.

The Seawolves immediately called a timeout, and Mark Turgeon put Maryland in a full-court press that immediately resulted in a steal and two made free throws by Jackson.

The pressure stayed on after Fernando leaped from just outside the restricted area for a block and the leak out to Jackson and another foul. Jackson would hit the first, and miss the second for Maryland’s first miss in their first 10 tries and brought the score to 31-13. Afterwards, Stony Brook’s Jordan Mckenzie finished the layup to stop Maryland’s 12-0 run. Maryland would lead by as much as 20 end the half up 18, leading 41-23.

In all, 11 players would get minutes in the first half for Turgeon, in what was a relatively sloppy but successful first half. Maryland finished the half with eight turnovers and 11 fouls, but also won the rebounding battle 24-9, will 24 points in the paint and 11 points off the bench.

Stony Brook’s Tyrell Sturdivant scored the first points of the second half and then hit back-to-back threes to bring the lead down to 13, and his scoring total to 14. Sloppy play caused Turgeon to use a couple timeouts, as Maryland had three more turnovers by the 15:42-mark of the half.

After the timeout, Maryland went on a 9-0 run started by a dunk by Fernando that would foreshadow the rest of the half. Stony Brook hit three more threes, but Fernando quickly became the show of the second half. He took advantage of the Seawolves’ lack of height inside, and added eight more points to his total in short time.

The game stayed within 20 points, but Maryland kept the Seawolves out of striking range. Jackson was able to get his third ever double-on a coast-to-coast finish following rebound No. 12, making him the fourth Terp in double-figures. Cowan became the fifth shortly after.

Maryland started sitting its starters with a 69-51 lead, before sophomore Akwasi Yeboah drained two threes to make it a 12-point game, and force Turgeon to call a timeout. Huerter and Cowan then combined for six straight points to put the game out of reach for good.

Three things to know

1. The kids are alright. Each of Maryland’s three sophomores finished in double-digit scoring, highlighted by Jackson’s double-double. Add in 10 points each from Cekovsky and Fernando and the Terps had a balanced scoring night.
2. Maryland was dominant in the paint. Maybe chalk it up to the height advantage, but the Terps looked good on the boards. They finished the game outrebounding Stony Brook 42-26, and six Terps had at least three rebounds. Maryland also finished with 50 points in the paint to the Seawolves’ 18.
3. The Terps couldn’t find the range. Wiley and Huerter made Maryland’s only two threes of the game, as the Terps went 2-of-14 from beyond the arc. There were a couple others that looked close, but Maryland never got going from deep.