Maryland men’s basketball takes down Netherlands “B” Team, 75-66

In addition to gained experience and game reps, Maryland men’s basketball will also leave Italy with a perfect record, after dispatching the Netherlands “B” National Team on Saturday, 75-66.

Jalen Smith was named MVP of the game after finishing with 12 points and a reported “dominant” rebounding performance. Though, it was Darryl Morsell and Serrel Smith that would pace Maryland with 15 points each. Morsell knocked in four three-pointers against the Dutch side, more than he made his entire freshman season (3).

One of Morsell’s triples came as the clock expired heading into the half, getting him mobbed by his teammates, highlighted on the team’s Instagram story. Here’s the story conveniently compiled in a tweet.

Head coach Mark Turgeon used a guard-heavy lineup where Morsell and Serrel Smith thrived early, according to the team blog. With a thin frontcourt heading into the season, Turgeon may end up utilizing guard-heavy lineups often. The small lineup paced Maryland to a 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Terps kept that groove into the second quarter, and Morsell’s buzzer-beater wasn’t his only highlight of the period. He added a breakaway jam and another catch-and-shoot three to his stat sheet before the half. The Terps would end the second half on a 15-2 run, as Morsell’s triple secured a 42-29 lead at the break.

The third quarter would feature back-to-back threes by Serrel Smith, as well as some buckets from Anthony Cowan and Bruno Fernando. However, the highlight of the quarter was a follow-up lay-in by Reese Mona, collecting a Jalen Smith miss to give the Terps a 61-51 lead heading into the fourth.

The Dutch tightened it up in the final frame and would get the lead as close as six points, before falling. An alley-oop to Sticks and a flush by Fernando broke their backs; buckets from Eric Ayala and Cowan plus a steal-turned finish by Aaron Wiggins sealed the deal.

With the win, Maryland wraps up its training tour 3-0, but will take in the sights before heading back on Aug. 13.