The Terps led by 26 points at the half.
NEW YORK — Saturday saw both Maryland men’s basketball and Syracuse get out to sloppy starts at Barclays Center in the Gotham Classic.
The Orange shot 27.6% from the field and committed 12 turnovers in the first half, while the Terps’ frontcourt endured a nightmare start. An airball and errant turnovers forced freshman Derik Queen to the bench early, while senior Julian Reese smoked multiple open dunks in the first half.
Maryland cleaned up its mess in the final five minutes before halftime, though, stringing together a 17-2 run to open a 26-point lead before the break. The Terps rode this advantage through the final 20 minutes en route to an 87-60 win over Syracuse Saturday in New York.
While the frontcourt struggled at times, Maryland’s guards were sharp from the start. Selton Miguel, coming off a season-high 24 points against Saint Francis (PA), picked up right where he left off. He scored seven of its first nine points, 16 in the first half and once again finished the game with 24. He shot 8-of-11 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
“It just feels good [to be back],” Miguel said. “That’s me.”
Ja’Kobi Gillespie also helped keep Maryland offense afloat throughout the game, recording his first career double-double with 17 points and 11 assists — one of which was a beautiful behind-the-back pass to Miguel for three, which he naturally netted.
“You’re starting to see the evolution of a point guard, where he’s really understanding who to get the ball [to and] when to [pass] the ball,” head coach Kevin Willard said.
The Terps shot 12-of-27 from three, led by Miguel and Gillespie’s combined 9-of-14.
The first seven minutes of the game were a tough watch for fans from the north and south, as both teams looked rushed offensively. By the first media timeout at the 12:56 mark, Maryland was shooting 30.8% from the field, while Syracuse was shooting 27.3% with six turnovers. The Terps led, 12-6.
“[We] wanted to come out and make a statement right away defensively,” Willard said. “Our intensity right from the start just set the tone and kind of got them on their heels a little bit.”
Maryland’s slow start offensively was defined by the struggles of Queen and Reese. After missing Rodney Rice on an open fast-break pass, Queen was subbed out for Tafara Gapare less than four minutes into the game. When he returned, Queen saw the court for less than two minutes, as another turnover and airball earned him another trip to the bench.
Reese was not much better, he started the game 0-of-6 from the field, missing a plethora of easy shots, and did not score until there were less than 30 seconds in the half.
But when Queen — Maryland’s leading scorer this season and offensive engine — found his stride, the Terps dominated. Queen scored seven points in the final eight minutes of the first half and sparked Maryland’s 17-2 run with a layup and assist to a cutting Gillespie. He finished the game with 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Reese also performed much better in the second half, ending the game with 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists on 5-of-13 shooting.
With a 26-point halftime lead, the second half was relatively uncompetitive. The Orange were far more efficient in the period — as they shot 58.6% from the field and 70% from beyond the arc — but could not cut into Maryland’s lead.
“We got out butts kicked,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said. “It was embarrassing, very disappointing.”
Three things to know
1. Gapare was the first man off the Terps’ bench. Gapare has established himself as Maryland’s sixth man over the last few games, playing first and more than Jordan Geronimo and DeShawn Harris-Smith, who both started for the Terps last season. Gapare finished the game with six points, three rebounds and a block in 16 minutes.
2. Freeman was shut down in the first half. A key component of Maryland’s first-half lead was the disappearance of the Orange’s second-leading scorer, Donnie Freeman. Primarily defended by Queen, Gapare and Geronimo, Freeman was 0 for 2 from the field in the first half, failing to score a point. Freeman played much better in the second half, scoring 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, but the game was practically out of reach by then.
3. Both teams were efficient from three. Both Maryland and Syracuse shot more than 44% from 3-point range Saturday. The Terps entered the game fresh off 57.7% performance from deep against Saint Francis (PA), and followed it by shooting 44.4% against Syracuse, who finished with a 50% mark from three, nearly 23 percentage points above its season average prior to the contest.