In the final tune-up game before the start of Big Ten play, Maryland men’s basketball cruised inside the Xfinity Center after defeating Alcorn State, 96-58. It marks the fifth win of the season by at least 30 points, tying a program record.
It was another balanced scoring effort for Maryland as Derik Queen finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, becoming one of two freshmen this season to have four 20-point games, while Julian Reese notched his 25th career double-double after finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds in 19 minutes. Selton Miguel was the third to finish in double figures after posting 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three, as nine different players scored at least one field goal.
Maryland jumped out to an 11-4 start after Julian Reese led the way early, scoring his first four points from the free-throw line, before a 9-0 run from Alcorn State gave the Braves an early lead. Alcorn State's three with just under 12 minutes left in the first half gave them a four-point lead, marking their largest on the day, before the Terps turned on the jets.
Maryland outscored Alcorn State 37-15 the rest of the half, including a 13-0 run over a 2:55 stretch between the under eight and four media timeouts to give the Terps permanent cushion. The Braves also shot 4-for-15 from the field over the final 11:59 compared to the Terps shooting 10-for-15 the rest of the half, but it was how they did it.
Like we've seen for much of non-conference play, Maryland enjoyed more balanced scoring with eight players scoring at least one field goal at the break, shooting over 55% from the field and 50% from three to take a 17-point lead into halftime.
After the two teams traded layups to begin the second half, Maryland went on a quick 6-0 run to prompt an early Alcorn St. timeout, but that didn't change much. Cornelius would work to change that after scoring nine of his 12 points in the second half to help Alcorn St. trim the lead to as little as 14. Maryland would put the finishing touches on the game, though, after outscoring Alcorn St. 38-14 over the final 14:38.
Maryland shot 57.1% from the field in the win, marking the fifth consecutive game that Maryland has shot at least 50% from the field.
Maryland will now shift its attention to the start of Big Ten play with Ohio State headed to College Park on Wednesday, Dec. 4 with tipoff set for 6:30 PM.
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