In the preview of the game, Maryland needed to hold serve at home and pick up a victory over a lesser Wake Forest team. Maryland (11-4, 1-1) played a very strong first half against the Demon Deacons (10-5, 1-1) and held on to win 70-64. In the first half, the Terps had runs of 12-2 and 14-4 to grab the halftime lead at 40-24. It was a strong team effort that fueled the lead and in the second half despite their putrid shooting, the Terps held on. Let’s get to the report card:
Pe’Shon Howard B
Howard struggled from the field shooting going 0-5 but he found other ways to contribute as he dished out 3 assists and grabbed 5 rebounds and had 2 steals.
Nick Faust B-
Faust got the start over Stoglin and gave the team 6 points and 6 boards in 13 minutes. I felt the 6 boards were the crucial part of the stat line as he was able to be aggressive with his time on the court.
Sean Mosley B+
He had 15 points but more important was his leadership and defense especially down the stretch. He made the key play grabbing the offensive rebound off the missed free throw and putting it in the hoop to put the team up 6.
James Padgett A
Every time I watch Padgett play he impresses me. Last night, he played big in the second half as the team struggled. He finished with 11 points and 8 boards but more importantly, he was 7-9 from the charity stripe.
Alex Len D
He seemed to be a non factor the whole game. There were stretches that I didn’t even realize he was on the court.
Bench A-
Coming off the bench, Terrell Stoglin got 20 points and continually got huge buckets when the team needed them as the Deacons clawed back into the game. When Stoglin found out in practice he wasn’t going to start, he didn’t sulk but wanted to do what he could to help his team win coming off the bench. Ashton Pankey had a monster first half grabbing 5 rebounds in the first 7 minutes and finished the first half with 9 points and 7 rebounds in 12 minutes. He truly was a spark off the bench.
Sub of the game: Ashton Pankey
Coach B
I loved seeing Mark Turgeon experiment with the starting lineup and have Stoglin come off the bench. He had the Terps ready to play in the first half as they built a strong lead. He rode his hot hands as well with Pankey in the first half and Padgett in the second half. This Terps team is not a team that will blow many opponents out but they will find a way to win. Although the team shot 7-29 from the field in the second half, the team found a way to win which is the mark of a good coach.
Maybe You Missed It
The Terps won the battle on the boards, 45-37. Pankey led the way with nine, Padgett had eight and Nick Faust had six. All nine Terps that saw action had at least two boards. Maryland improved to 9-1 on the season when winning the battle of the glass. The boards are an important number as the Terps are not extremely tall, so there is definitely a correlation between their success on the boards and their records.
