The University of Maryland saw their winning streak end at 7 games, as Coach Turgeon’s Terps lost their first ACC (and road) game of the year. The Terrapins had their opportunities against NCST, but ultimately the Wolfpack was able to pull away for a 79-74 win.
The Good:
1) With MD down 7 early (16-9), Stoglin hit a runner in the lane. Stoglin got MD back within 2 (20-18), when he hit an open 3 from the corner. The Terps were back down by 8 a minute into the 2nd half, when Stoglin hit another 3. If you were scouting against MD, you would obviously begin with Stoglin having to be limited as a scorer. That the Sophomore was able to finish with 25 points in this first conference game is a good sign.
2) Pankey entered the game off the bench, and was very active on the defensive side with 2 blocks. A strong pick from Pankey, gave Faust an open look from 3.
3) Howard did an excellent job of finding Padgett on a pick and roll to close the deficit to 18-13. On a dribble drive and kick, he found Parker on the wing for an open 3. Howard finished with 8 assists.
4) Howard was not able to finish, but Len gave him a great look. Len’s scoring started with an early jumper, and his size (and shot-blocking) made an immediate impact. People wanted to see how he would play against ACC caliber competition, and it was clear that while he is not the quite the pogo stick of CJ Leslie, that Len’s athleticism will play well against anyone. Len finished with 12 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks.
5) Coming off a curl, Faust hit a 3 to put MD up 1 at 23-22. In most games, Faust shows flashes of the player he will become.
6) Maryland pulled within 2 (30-28), when Mosley scored on a drive. Another Mosley drive in the 2nd half, got the Terps within 6 (52-46). Down 10 points with 3 minutes left, MD isolated Mosley on the wing. The Senior got to the rim, and converted the layup while being fouled. Mosley finished with 12 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal.
7) NCST was beginning to pull away (50-42), when Parker drove hard to the rim, and got to the line. His 2nd to last basket came in the final minute, with a flush. Parker had 9 points, and 3 steals.
8) Maryland shot well from 3, hitting 9 of their 21 attempts.
9) The Terps were down 14 points late, and with a 9-0 run, they gave themselves a chance to win with under 2 minutes remaining. They did not get the win tonight, but they continued to battle.
The Bad:
1) Out of a timeout, NCST hit a 3, when Faust did not get out on the shooter.
2) Trapped along the baseline around mid-court, Parker threw the ball up for grabs in the middle of the court. This provided for an easy steal, and score for the Wolfpack.
3) Maryland was down 7 (16-9) at the under 12 minute timeout.
4) Padgett was playing hard, but he blew several layups that he needed to finish. NCST went up 11 (64-53) when Padgett did not box out Leslie.
5) Down 32-20, with just over a minute left in the 1st half, Mosley badly bricked an open 3. This led to a run out by NCST.
6) Maryland was down 5 (44-39), when a Howard turnover led to a Wolfpack fast-break.
7) Len attempted to go with his off-hand for a lay-up, with the Terps down 54-51. Len missed the lay-up, and was beat down the court by Painter. Two plays later, Painter beat Len down the court again. Len was clearly gassed at that point. Some of the blame has to go to Turgeon for not managing Len’s minutes better.
7a) As those plays illustrated, Len wore out as the game progressed. Still would have liked to have seen him finish with more than 6 FG attempts.
8) With just over 5 minutes left, Padgett made a great hustle save in the corner. This was an example of his work throughout the game. He was consistently battling hard.
9) The Terps were 13 of 21 from the line with Len missing 3 attempts.
The Ugly:
1) Maryland had 15 turnovers, many of them unforced.
