No. 7 Maryland cruises in dress rehearsal against Fayetteville, wins 76-43

Photo courtesy Maryland Athletics

Maryland men’s basketball team had their first chance to show they were worth the praise of a No. 7 preseason ranking against Fayetteville Friday night.

They did not disappoint.

The Terps emptied the bench in their 76-43 victory and showed just how deep of a team they have this season. 

Although Maryland only led by one because of a few defensive breakdowns early on in the game, they turned things up with an 11-0 run and never looked back, building a double-digit lead and going into halftime with a resounding 42-23 lead.

“We gave up 16 points in the first-like-eight minutes or whatever and then we really locked in,” head coach Mark Turgeon said.

The Terps had an  even stronger second half, building their lead to 38.

Maryland took exceptional care of the ball, finishing with only six turnovers.

The one area the Terps particularly struggled in were free throws, as they shot 53 percent from the line. Turgeon didn’t seem as concerned, stating that he thinks the team has shot around 24,000 free throws during practice since school started, making about 86 percent of them.

Coming off the bench, senior guard Anthony Cowan finished as the team’s leading scorer with 16 points. According to a team spokesperson, he did not start because Turgeon wanted to get a look at a few other players competing for a starting spot. 

Cowan already has his spot locked in. Turgeon said Cowan will make his 100th consecutive start Tuesday night in the team’s season opener, the 16th most games started in program history.

The Terps had three others finish in double figures as sophomore guard Eric Ayala had 13 points, while sophomore and freshman forwards Jalen Smith and Donta Scott each had 10 points.

Maryland will officially begin its regular season on Nov. 5 when they host Holy Cross at Xfinity Center at 7:30 p.m.