(Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics)
PRESS RELEASE
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Eric Ayala had 19 points and 5 rebounds, Darryl Morsell and Aaron Wiggins scored 12 apiece, and Maryland won its 44th consecutive home opener by defeating Old Dominion 85-67 on Wednesday afternoon at the XFINITY Center.
Ayala went 6-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the line, finishing perfect from the field and charity stripe for the first time in his career. Donta Scott and Chol Marial borth finished with career-highs in points with 14 and seven, respectively.
Maryland extended its season-opening winning streak to seven, as transfers Jairus Hamilton and Galin Smith started their first career games as Terrapins. Hamilton would finish with five points, while Smith chipped in six including a pair of two-handed slams.
The Monarchs kept things close in the opening minutes, and remained within a point of the lead at the 5:43 mark in the first half. Maryland pulled away from there, going on a 13-0 run over the next three minutes before ODU could stop the bleeding.
A pair of free throws from Ayala with less than a second on the clock gave the Terps a 42-29 edge at the half, which Maryland quickly extended at the start of the second half.
Maryland stayed up by double digits for the rest of the day, as the Terps secured their first win since the team raised the Big Ten Championship trophy last March.
Newcomers Aquan Smart, Marcus Dockery, Arnaud Revaz and Aidan McCool saw the court for the first time as Terrapins, and sophomores Chol Marial and Hakim Hart racked up career-highs in minutes with 16 and 18, respectively.
