The University of Maryland Terrapins moved to 6-1 on the year, with a 69-62 neutral-court victory over George Mason at the BB&T Classic.

The Good:

1) Wells took the ball coast-to-coast for Maryland’s first basket. Coming off an in-bounds, Wells got his 2nd basket. Hitting a jumper off a screen, Wells had his (and Maryland’s) 3rd basket. On fire to start the game, he knocked down a second jumper along the baseline. Nice pass from Wells to Mitchell for a layup, putting MD up 19-10. Mason had closed to within 3 at 27-24, when Wells used some strength inside to score. With under 2 minutes left in the 1st half, Wells went glass for another basket inside. After those baskets inside, he went to the wing and hit a 3. This gave MD a 34-30 lead as time ticked down in the 1st half. Fantastic steal from Wells in the 2nd half, leading to MD’s first basket after the break. Wells had a couple of important back-to-back baskets around the 15 minute mark of the 2nd. The 2nd basket coming on a circus shot, which got him to the line. Wells finished in traffic for a 45-43 MD lead. After a Mason score, he came right back with another basket of his own. Wells was 11 of 17 from the floor, finishing with 25 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

2) Sealing off his defender, Len gave the Terps their first non-Wells made basket, putting Maryland up 10-6. His 2nd basket came on a dunk with authority. Standing his ground, Len had a block at just under the 10 minute mark. Leading 19-13, Len again gained position, and earned a trip to the line. He ripped a defensive rebound from everyone the next time down. Doubled in the post, Len immediately found Allen for an open look from 3. A Len basket at the 6:30 mark, but the Terps up 6. 12 points, 10 boards, and 4 blocks for Len.

3) Entering the game, Charles Mitchell immediately ripped down a board. Mitchell had an easy buck on an inside look from Wells. Another look from Wells, gave Mitchell another basket inside. Another big board from Mitchell at the 13:30 mark. Mitchell had 6 boards.

4) Faust put Maryland up 13-6 with a 3 from the wing. Nice rebound from Faust after a missed 3 from Allen. Knocking down a pair of FT’s, Faust put MD up 23-16. Faust got MD on the board in the 2nd half, finishing the perfect pass from Howard. Faust found Wells underneath off an in-bounds. Nice job from Faust in transition, pushing the action, and finding Wells for a 45-43 MD lead. A Faust dunk put MD up 4 with 8 minutes left. Late in the game, he had a good defensive play, and then found Padgett inside. He finished with 14 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists.

5) Layman had a good defensive board on on end, followed by a nice looking touch pass inside on the other.

6) After missing 2 FT’s, Allen took a charge on George Mason’s next trip down the floor. Maryland went up 15-8 on Allen’s driving to the rim. Allen did a good job of just beating defenders down the floor. Maryland was leading 23-18, when Allen drew a foul on a 3 point attempt.

7) Howard had a nice assist on Len’s 2nd basket (a dunk inside). Howard pushed the ball up court and found Wells inside, putting MD up 5 at 29-24. Coming off the great steal from Wells, Howard delivered a perfect pass to the rim for Faust. Howard had 6 assists, and 7 boards.

8) At the half, MD had a 18-13 edge on the glass. The Terps were 13 of 25 from the floor. Maryland would end the game having won on the boards 45-31. The Terps shot 45% from the floor.

9) Padgett had a good defensive play with MD up 4, and 7 minutes left. He would follow a Faust miss, putting MD up 6 (62-56). 6 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks for the game.

The Bad:

1)  Howard started the game with a missed 3, and a turnover. With MD up 19-12, bad pass from Howard to Padgett. Starting the 2nd half, Howard picked up a charge as he was out of control down the lane. Howard had 3 turnovers.

2) Maryland had their 2nd turnover in the games first 4 minutes, when Wells was not able to come up with a bounce pass from Howard. On a fast-break at 10-6, Wells did not finish a layup.Wells dropped a wide open pass underneath the basket on an in-bounds. Another Wells turnover, allowed Georeg Mason to close the game to 21-15. At the 5:36 mark of the 1st half, Wells had another unforced turnover – his 4th of the game. Wells finished with 5 turnovers, and missed a FT late.

3) At 13-6, Allen missed 2 shots from the charity stripe. Allen had a turnover with under 5 minutes left in the 1st, when he wildly attacked the rim. Bad turnover from Allen at the 14:25 mark of the 2nd.

4) Len missed a pass from Howard, after turning his head away. George Mason tied the game at 34, when Len came out to perimeter to contest a shot, and the Patriots were able to score inside against the vacated space. An offensive foul was called on a Len spin move on the baseline. A bad turnover from Len with under 2 minutes left led to a George Mason basket.

5) At the half, Coach Turgeon was not happy with how the Terps handled the pressure from George Mason. MD ended the 1st half with the 4 point lead, but with MD up 21-13 with about 8 minutes left; there had been an opportunity to blow the game open early. As it felt like MD was in control throughout, it was disappointing that they had not been able to create some distance. 2 1/2 minutes into the 2nd half, the Patriots were up 3 following their 7-0 run.

6) Len kicked out against several double-teams, finding teammates for open 3’s. Those shots were not knocked down. I would have liked to have seen Aronhalt get an earlier opportunity.

7) For the 2nd straight game, Padgett was a complete non-factor in the first 20 minutes.

8) Mitchell had two ugly looking FT attempts at the 12 minute mark.

9) Faust was not able to follow a missed 3 from Layman, despite an open look. Faust had a couple of bad turnovers, including one at the 9:30 mark of the 2nd half. After making his first 6 FT’s, Faust missed two with about a minute left.

10) Maryland was 2 of 11 from 3 point land, and 22 of 37 from the line.

The Ugly:

1) As Coach Turgeon mentioned at the half, Maryland struggled with the pressure from George Mason. They also struggled with unforced turnovers. The Terps had 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action. For the game, Maryland 20 turnovers.

2) At half-time, Len had just 3 shot attempts. That was a failure by his teammates to get the ball inside to Alex, though to be fair – Len was seeing consistent double-teams.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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