After close wins against supposed cupcakes Hampton and Northeastern earlier in the season, Maryland should have learned that no win was a guaranteed blowout. Last night's opponent, Morgan State, was perhaps better than either of those two teams, having lost close games to UConn and Miami by just four points apiece.
The Terrapins turned in their most efficient offensive output of the season, scoring a season-high 89 points while hitting 9 of 15 three pointers and cutting the turnovers down to a more managable 23% of possessions. The scoring load was balanced and led by Eric Hayes. Hayes returned to the point guard position after playing shooting guard for the team's first eight games and responded with a 19 point performance including 5 three point shots. Boom Osby contributed 16 points and 9 boards off the bench, including nine consecutive points during one stretch in the second half that stretched the lead from 11 to 18. James Gist scored 18 points and went over 1,000 for his career while Greivis Vasquez had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists plus 7 more turnovers.
The biggest negative from this game was the continued inability of the Terps to come close to holding their own on the defensive boards, allowing Morgan State to get back about 36% of their missed shots in the form of offensive rebounds. No doubt that part of that is downside of an interior defense that relies more on blocking shots (10 last night) than playing position defense. Even so, the frustration of seeing a Terp get a hand on the ball only to have it squirt away from the opposition could drive a fan insane. The team has actually improved from last year, even with the loss of Ekene Ibekwe, so that incremental improvement might have to suffice for this year.
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