Maryland’s two freshmen forwards have grabbed the attention entering the season, but it’s elder statesman in the frontcourt continues to show his versatility all over the floor.
Landon Milbourne poured in an array of shots on his way to a career-high 24 points in the Terps’ dominating 82-55 victory over New Hampshire at Comcast Center Friday night. The senior from Roswell, Ga. was 9-of-15 from the field and made both of his three-point attempts to lead Maryland to its 12th 3-0 start in Gary Williams’ tenure at Maryland.
“He is a tough matchup for teams because of how he plays the four position,” Eric Hayes said of his fellow senior. “When he’s shooting the ball like he was tonight it opens up the court for him to be able to go around guys and get to the hoop.”
Adding to the accomplishments for the Terps was Sean Mosley, who earned his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. The Baltimore native continues to show improvement from a successful freshman season and appears primed to become one of the breakout players in the ACC this season.
Maryland jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead by holding New Hampshire to just 26% shooting and forcing 13 turnovers in the first half and 21 for the game. Mosley and Adrian Bowie each had three steals, as Gary Williams continued to be pleased with his team’s defensive effort.
“For the third time I think we’ve come out hard defensively this year and I think that’s a good sign,” Williams said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get teams to come out with the intensity level that’s necessary for what we need all year.”
The Terps ran their half-court offense effectively after relying heavily on transition points in their first two games of the season. Maryland shot 56.6% from the field and was 5-for-11 from three-point range.
Senior guard Eric Hayes went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and continued to provide a steadying force in the first half for the Terrapins’ offense, scoring 11 of his 15 points before halftime.
Despite the early successes of his senior counterparts, Greivis Vasquez continued to struggle, scoring just eight points and grabbing six rebounds. He passed on several open looks and deferred to teammates for most of the evening. Williams was confident “he’ll respond” to the expectations and attention placed upon him this season.
The Terps will now fly to Hawaii in preparation for the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Maryland’s first game will be against Chaminade on Monday night.
After three convincing victories—against underwhelming competition—the Terps are anxious to see how the early success will translate against the greater challenges awaiting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
“Where we are right now, it’s hard to say,” Williams said, “but we’ll find out next week.”
– When asked about the possibility of playing high school teammate Lance Stephenson in Maui, freshman James Padgett admitted to thinking about a reunion with the star recruit that turned down Maryland and eventually signed with Cincinnati.
“It would be good to meet up with my partner, but we’ll take it one game at a time,” Padgett said.
– In addition to posting his first career double-double, Mosley also shattered his previous career-high of four assists by dishing out 10 against New Hampshire. Several teammates raved about his passing ability following the game.
“I came out and found the open man in the offense,” Mosley said.
– New Hampshire is now 0-9 all-time against ACC schools.
Check out the box score here and the live blog below.
________________________________________
9:50 p.m. — Another great effort from the Terps tonight. On to the Maui Invitational.
Final score: Maryland 82, New Hampshire 55
Back later with the post-game wrap.
9:46 p.m. — Padgett with the big slam to put an exclamation point on this one. 81-51, Terps, with 1:16 to go.
9:45 p.m. — Tucker hits the short jumper to put the Terps back up by 28 points.
David Pearman and Ersin Levent have checked into the game to a nice ovation. They join Tucker, Padgett, and Bowie on the floor for the final two minutes.
9:43 p.m. — Landon Milbourne has reached a new career-high in points with 24. I forgot to figure his last free throw into his total for the night.
9:42 p.m. — Padgett gets the ball inside and is fouled, giving him two shots.
We’ve reached our last official timeout of the night with Maryland leading New Hampshire, 77-51.
9:40 p.m. — Santos fouls Milbourne who will go to the line for two shots.
He makes both of them, giving him 23 points for the game and matching his career-high.
9:38 p.m. — DiLiegro has fouled out, but Mosley bricks the front-end free throw. Santos drains another three on the opposite end of the floor.
Gary Williams calls a 30-second timeout with the score 73-51 with 5:03 remaining. He’s clearly not happy with the effort over the last several minutes.
Mosley with a BEAUTIFUL bounce pass around the defender to get it to Vasquez for the easy bucket.
Have I mentioned that I like Sean Mosley’s game?
9:37 p.m. — Hayes fouls Graham, and the sophomore guard misses the front end of a 1-and-1.
Onguetou then fouls Hayes who will go to the line for 1-and-1 himself. The senior drills both ends, ending the 8-0 run for New Hampshire.
9:35 p.m. — Santos scores off the turnover to cut the lead to 26 points. Milbourne tries to score with the left hand, but the shot doesn’t fall.
On the other end, Santos his the three, and you can hear some murmurs in the crowd. It’s now just a 23-point game after the lead being over 30 not very long ago.
9:31 p.m. — Tucker pulls the board off the Conley miss and tries to take it all the way but is whistled for the player control foul. He just doesn’t play with enough control.
Official timeout with 7:57 to go. Maryland leading New Hampshire and thinking about Hawaii already, 71-40.
9:26 p.m. — Colbey Santos hits the three. Good for Colbey. It’s also one of my favorite cheeses.
Mosley gets the steal and the flush! That pushes the lead back up to 34.
9:24 p.m. — Mosley hits the jumper, giving him nine points to go along with his nine assists. Very nice game for the sophomore. He does so much on the floor, even if it doesn’t always show up in the box score.
As I type the last paragraph, Bowie feeds Mosley for the lay-in, and he’s in double figures.
67-32.
9:21 p.m. — We’ve reached the “under-12” timeout with 11:41 remaining, and the Terps are up, 63-32.
At this point, I’m interested in seeing Landon Milbourne exceed his career-high and the Terps coming out of this one healthy.
9:20 p.m. — Padgett appeared to get tied up, but Graham is whistled for a foul. Padgett scores inside a moment later, giving him his first field goal of the night.
The Terps force another turnover, and Tucker passes up a shot to find Milbourne for the easy two. The senior forward is one point away for a career high.
9:16 p.m. — Following the official timeout, DiLiegro gets the ball inside and is called for the offensive foul. Bill Herrion is not happy with the call.
Vasquez hits the inside shot, and the senior guard now has six points.
Following another New Hampshire turnover, Vasquez dishes to Williams inside who lays it in…COUNT IT, AND THE FOUL!
Williams cannot make the freebie to complete the three-point play. He gets a nice hand as he goes to the bench moments later.
9:11 p.m. — Vasquez drives to the lane and hits the runner.
On the other end, Jordan Williams just stuffed Conley’s inside attempt. Fans wanted a tie-up.
Onguetou hits a three, and Conley steals the inbound pass to cut the lead to 19 points.
Milbourne with ANOTHER jump shot, giving him 20 on the night.
9:09 p.m. — Milbourne’s career high is 23 points, achieved on two separate occasions. His most-recent 23-point outburst came against Virginia Tech last February.
With 18 points at the 17:35 mark of the second half, he has a great chance to top it.
9:07 p.m. — Conley rattles in a three for the Wildcats to make it 42-25, but Milbourne answers with a three of his own, his second trey of the night.
The forward from Roswell, Ga. scores again on the next possession, giving him 18 points early in the second half.
Timeout New Hampshire.
9:04 p.m. — Maryland gets the ball to start the second half, and we have the original lineups back on the floor.
Milbourne misses in the low post, but Vasquez pulls down the offensive board. He then misses the three and continues to struggle with his perimeter shooting.
Following another New Hampshire miss, Mosley takes it inside and is fouled by Rhoads.
Mosley makes a pair, and the lead is now up to 20.
9:01 p.m. — Landon Milbourne (13) and Eric Hayes (11) have accounted for over half of Maryland’s scoring while Sean Mosley has been the main distributor with six assists.
A very quiet night for Greivis Vasquez who only has two points, two rebounds, and one assist.
8:50 p.m. — The defense has once again been the difference for the Terps tonight, holding New Hampshire to just 26% shooting and forcing 13 turnovers.
Maryland, however, is being outrebounded by a slim margin of 16-15.
8:47 p.m. — Conley misses a wide-open three and the Terps are going the other way.
Under a minute to go.
Mosley is fouled by Conley, and the Baltimore sophomore will shoot two. He converts them both, growing the lead back to 18 points.
Williams pulls the rebound off the Conley miss, and the Terps will hold for the final shot of the half. Bowie dishes to Tucker, back to Bowie who throws up an off-balanced air ball.
We’ve reached halftime. Maryland leads New Hampshire, 40-22.
8:44 p.m. — Abreu makes the second, and Milbourne is fouled by Onguetou on the baseline shot.
Milbourne hits both of them, and Maryland leads 38-22.
8:42 p.m. — Vasquez is whistled for his second foul and doesn’t like it. He got Abreu with the body though, and it was the right call.
Abreu goes to the line for 1-and-1 and makes the first. Gary Williams calls a 30-second timeout.
8:41 p.m. — Following the timeout, the Terps come out in the full-court press, forcing Bill Herrion to use a 30-second timeout.
Russell Graham is fouled and makes one of two, but the Wildcats pull the offensive rebound off the miss. Radar Onguetou hits the three, and New Hampshire has cut the lead to 16.
8:37 p.m. — Milbourne hits the jumper with a foot on the line to put the Terps up, 36-16.
Vasquez pulls the rebound and finds Bowie for a three-point shot, but the junior doesn’t even draw iron. Despite asking for a foul, Bowie walks to the bench as we’ve reached the “under-4” timeout.
8:33 p.m. — New Hampshire is currently shooting just 26.7% from the field. Ouch.
It’s 32-14 as Jordan Williams is fouled by DiLiegro and will go to the line for two.
I am impressed with both Williams’ and Padgett’s form at the line, as Williams drains them both to put the Terps up by 20.
8:31 p.m. — Mosley makes the freebie to complete the three-point play.
And the Wildcats promptly kick the ball out of bounds. Very ugly performance by New Hampshire.
Vasquez passes on the three and dishes to Hayes who hits ANOTHER one. He now has 11 in the game with 9 points coming via the three-point shot.
8:28 p.m. — Vasquez gets his first points of the night and following a Rhoads air-ball on a three, Mosley scores on the other end and is fouled!
Official timeout with 6:36 remaining in the half. Maryland leads New Hampshire, 28-12.
8:26 p.m. — Mosley drives inside but dishes out to Hayes for a wide-open three, and the senior drills it. Hayes with eight in the first half.
On the other end, Bowie picks up the foul and Abreu will go to the charity stripe for three. Ugh. The 6-foot-2 junior bricks the first, drains the second, and cannot convert the third.
Williams’ shot is blocked inside, but Bowie picks off a pass on the other end and hits a jumper at the top of the key. Nice to see Bowie show some range there, as his perimeter shot has not looked good so far this season.
8:22 p.m. — Cliff Tucker gets the bucket to put the Terps up, 18-6.
New Hampshire having serious issues getting open looks against the Maryland defense, as Sean Mosley comes away with the steal but can’t get the jumper to fall. However, James Padgett cleans up the offensive glass and is fouled and will shoot two.
The big freshman has a nice looking shot, but makes one of two.
Abreu hits another three for the Wildcats.
8:18 p.m. — Bowie with a nice spin inside, but he can’t finish the shot.
On the other end, Hayes is whistled for the foul. A fan behind me REALLY didn’t like the ticky-tack call.
8:15 p.m. — DiLiegro picks up his second foul and is replaced by Chris Matagrano (wearing a mask).
Milbourne hits a three to put the Terps up, 16-6.
Good defensive set forces New Hampshire to settle for a three-point attempt with the shot clock winding down, and it’s no good.
We’ve reached the “under-12” timeout with 11:59 remaining and the Terps leading by 10.
8:13 p.m. — Adrian Bowie and James Padgett have just checked in for their first action. Mosley with a nice fake on the three and drove inside to find Milbourne for the easy layup.
On the other end, Padgett fouls DiLiegro, and the 6-foot-9 center completes the three-point play.
8:11 p.m. — Sean Mosley just found Williams inside for the layup, and we’ve reached our first official timeout.
Maryland leads New Hampshire, 11-3, with 14:22 remaining.
8:09 p.m. — Williams pulls another rebound but Mosley cannot connect with Hayes cutting to the basket, and it’s a turnover.
New Hampshire’s Alvin Abreu (pronounced A-brew, something I could go for right now) hits a three on the other end and the Wildcats are finally on the board.
8:07 p.m. — The Wildcats have already turned it over three times by my count and we’re three minutes into the game.
Vasquez with a great feed inside to Williams, but Vasquez is called for a player control foul in the process.
A few moments later, Hayes splashes a three, and it’s 9-0, Maryland. VERY impressive start defensively, as it looks like the Terps have picked up right where they left off on Tuesday night.
8:05 p.m. — New Hampshire with two fouls in about 10 seconds, but Milbourne misses the jumper from the foul line.
Milbourne with the steal, and the slam! 4-0, Terps.
Another steal, as Greivis Vasquez deflects one to Eric Hayes, and the senior takes it all the way. Great defensive start to this one.
8:02 p.m. — Landon Milbourne loses the opening tip, and we’re underway.
Terps come out playing man and force a missed shot inside by Chandler Rhoads. Jordan Williams with the first rebound of the night.
Milbourne scores inside for the first points of the night.
7:55 p.m. — Tonight’s starting lineups:
New Hampshire
C Dane DiLiegro
G Chandler Rhoads
G Tyrone Conley
G Alvin Abreu
F Brian Benson
Maryland
F Landon Milbourne
C Jordan Williams
G Eric Hayes
G Sean Mosley
G Greivis Vasquez
7:50 p.m. — You’d definitely like to see the Terps look crisper in their half-court offense tonight in their final game before heading to Hawaii. The defense has been nothing short of outstanding, especially against Fairfield, but things will get much tougher next week potentially playing the likes of Gonzaga, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, and Arizona.
7:46 p.m. — Just a reminder that tonight’s game will not be televised, but please stay right here as I share my thoughts throughout the evening.
7:43 p.m. — Maryland’s margins of victory of 38 points and 29 points are the best in the first two games of the season since 1991-92, when the Terps defeated Mount St. Marys (83-53) and UMES (115-60).
The Terps have been off to 2-0 starts 14 times in Gary Williams’ previous 20 seasons at Maryland, and have started 3-0 11 tiimes.
For those wondering (and possibly remembering), the best start in Williams’ tenure at Maryland happened in the 1996-97 season, when the Terps won their first 11 games of the year before losing in OT to Georgia in the Rainbow Classic finals.
7:36 p.m. — There is good news regarding the Terps’ frontcourt. Sophomore Jin Soo Choi sat out Tuesday night’s victory but is dressed to play tonight and will appear to be available for tonight’s game.
This coupled with Gary William’s announcement that Dino Gregory will return to the team on Dec. 12. By this date, Gregory will have missed the first eight games of the season, but will be available in plenty of time for the start of the conference schedule.
But just as I share these tidbits, I just received word that sophomore center Steve Goins will miss tonight’s game due to “a violation of the Athletic Council’s class attendance policy.” Of course, Goins was not expected to play anyway due to a knee injury, but it’s just one more wrinkle for the Terps’ uncertain frontcourt.
7:30 p.m. — Happy Friday, and greetings from Comcast Center as the Terps close out their season-opening homestand against New Hampshire before traveling to the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Hawaii next week.
The Terps (2-0, 25th in the AP Poll) are fresh off an outstanding defensive performance against Fairfield on Tuesday night, holding the Stags to just 29 percent shooting in a 71-42 win.
It was the fewest number of points allowed by a Maryland team since Jan. 6, 2004 when the Terps beat UMES, 87-38.
New Hampshire (1-0) won its season opener against Suffolk, 91-45, on Saturday and comes from the America East Conference, which also houses UMBC. Freshman Chandler Rhoads was named America East Rookie of the Week after his collegiate debut when he scored a game-high 14 points.
Head coach Bill Herrion and the Wildcats will attempt to earn their first win against an ACC team after failing in eight previous tries. The No. 25-ranked Terps are the first ranked team New Hampshire has played since losing to 15th-ranked Boston College on Nov. 10, 2006.
New Hampshire was picked fifth in the America East preseason poll.
