Maryland fought off a plucky Mount St. Mary’s team en route to a 79-61 victory.
Donta Scott lead Maryland with 17 points. Eric Ayala and Jairus Hamilton chipped in with 15 and 13 respectively.
Early in the second half it looked like Maryland would run away with the game when the took a 50-40 lead on a Darryl Morsell turnaround jumper.
But Mount St. Mary’s had other ideas. The Mount would go on a 18-7 run led Damian Chong Qui’s and Malik Jefferson’s combined 13 points.
Maryland’s answer to the run was a definitive one. The run started with two Scott free throws that tied the game. That was followed by a Hamilton three-pointer. Over the next 6:45, the Terps would go on a 21-0 run. The run would finally end on a Nana Opoku free throw.
The Mount jumped out to a nine point lead behind a hot shooting Jalen Gibbs. Early on, Gibbs hit three 3-pointers. He had with four made three-pointers and 13 points at halftime.
But as the half progressed Maryland’s offense picked up. Andrew Wiggins had gotten off to slow starts in the first two games. He responded with eight points in the first half as Eric Ayala caught fire near the end of the half scoring 10 points.
Terps led at halftime 41-32
