Box Score COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Thanks in a large part to a big day at the free throw line, Maryland cruised past Rider 103-76 on Tuesday evening at the XFINITY Center. Maryland, who controlled the boards and the paint all night, attempted 45 free throws total, including 21 makes in the first half, the most in a first half since also making 21 vs. Hofstra on Nov. 29, 2003.
Maryland led by as many as 29 points in the first half and kept the pressure on through the second half to complete the 15th-straight win in XFINITY Center, dating back to last season. The Terps' 27-point halftime lead was the program's largest since Nov. 17, 2016 against St. Mary's College of Maryland.
Julian Reese recorded his third consecutive double-double (22 points and 12 rebounds); it was also his first-ever first-half double-double. Jordan Geronimo continued his impressive play, finishing with 15 points on six-of-six shooting while Jahmir Young added 22 points and five assists.
The Terps finished with a 29-15 advantage in free throw makes as well as 21-11 advantage in points off turnovers after forcing 14 Rider giveaways.
Maryland reached triple-digits scoring for the first time since Jan. 15, 2021 when it beat Wingate 100-58. Maryland scored its most points since beating Marshall 104-67 on Nov. 23, 2018.
Coach Willard's Take
"In the first half our defense gave us a lot of opportunities for fast break points. We turned them over 9 times, had 22 deflections. I thought our defense led to us getting easy buckets early. Again, being at home, we had two really good days of practice this week going into this game, I think everyone's just starting to feel a little more comfortable with each other now. Especially that starting unit, they're one of the most productive units in the country and I think they;re getting more and more used to what each other is doing."
From The Guys
"We just went and got after it," Geronimo said of the defensive intensity. "We played with a lot of energy. We got some defensive stops to lead to buckets. We just went out there, played defense and got stops, and it's gonna create offense for us."
"We were moving the ball side-to-side, making sure we limited them to one shot, getting out in transition, playing unselfish and attacking the basket," Young said. "We were able to get in the bonus early and tried to knock down our free throws, just playing from defense to offense."
Breaking Down the Action
- Keyed by a pair of Jamie Kaiser three-pointers, Maryland led 14-8 at the first media timeout.
- As Jordan Geronimo began to assert himself on both ends of the floor, scoring 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first 12 minutes of action, the Terps stretched the lead to 35-18.
- A pair of Jahmir Young free throws capped off a 19-2 Maryland run as the Terps blew the game open, going up 39-18.
- Due in large part to 21 free throw makes, Maryland led 54-27 at halftime. Geronimo (13) and Julian Reese (12) combined for 25 points to lead the way. Reese also grabbed 10 boards to secure the first-half double-double, the first of his career.
- The Terps opened up a 30-point lead early in the second half and continued to cruise from there the rest of the way.
Home Sweet Home
- Dating back to last season, Maryland has a 15-game winning streak at the XFINITY Center, including three this season.
- The Terps will look to tie their best home win streak since the 2018-19 through 2019-20 seasons when they won 16 consecutive at home.
- Nationally, the 15-game win streak stands as the 8th-longest in the nation and the third-longest among 'major' conference programs. It is also the longest among all Big Ten teams.
- The program record for an overall home win streak is 27 from Dec. 6, 2015-Feb. 13, 2016.
- Following a loss at home to No. 16 UCLA on Dec. 14, 2022, the Terps then won 11 straight including nine Big Ten games at XFINITY. The streak started with a 75-45 win over St. Peter's on Dec. 22, 2022. The second win in the streak also came against UMBC, an 80-64 win on Dec. 29, 2022.
- Maryland is now 20-1 at home under Kevin Willard.
Double Figure Factors
- Jordan Geronimo reached double figures for the 11th time in his career and has now scored double digits in each of the last two consecutive games.
- Julian Reese scored in double figures for the 35th time in his career and the sixth time this season.
- Jahmir Young reached double figures for the 112th time in his career and the sixth time this season. He has scored at least a point in 127 consecutive games.
Fear The Jahmir
- With 22 points in the game, Jahmir Young added to his career scoring total and now has 2,085 points. He is the second-leading active scorer in the nation behind Texas' Max Abmas (2,653).
- Young is the only active player in the nation with 2,000-plus points, 600-plus rebounds and 350-assists as he has 2,085 points, 639 rebounds and 396 assists.
- Young also scored 20+ points in a game for the 43rd time in his career, which leads all active Big Ten players.
Scott Climbing the Charts
- After scoring seven points, Donta Scott increased his career total to 1,393 points, keeping him at No. 24 all-time. He is behind No. 23 Dez Wells (1,398, 2012-15).
- Scott grabbed four rebounds to increase his career total to 734 rebounds. No. 12 on the list is the legendary Len Bias, who has 745 from 1982-86.
- Scott played in his 135th career game as a Terp and is now tied for 7th most in program history. Scott also started his 121st career game which puts him in sole possession of the sixth-most in program history.
JuJu Beast
- With 22 points and 12 rebounds, Reese got his 11th career double-double of his career. It is the third consecutive double-double for the Baltimore native and third of the young season.
- With 12 points and 10 rebounds at the half, it was the first time he ever had a double-double in the first half in his career.
- Reese was 14-of-17 on FTs tonight. The XFINITY Center record for FTs in a game came from Diamond Stone 19-of-25 vs. Penn State (12/30/2015).
- Reese finished with four blocks for the second straight game, tying his career-high.
Century-Mark Terps
- Maryland scored 100 points or more in a game for the first time since it did so against Wingate on Jan. 15, 2021. Maryland won that game 100-58.
- Maryland scored its most points since beating Marshall 104-67 on Nov. 23, 2018.
Living at the Line
- The 21 free throws made in the first half equaled the most since also making 21 in the first half against Hofstra on Nov. 29, 2003. In that game Maryland similarly attempted 32 first-half free throws in that game.
- The Terrapins attempted the most free throw attempts in the XFINITY Center, breaking the record of 55 against Hofstra Nov. 29, 2003.
- The record for the Terps in a game is 67 free throws attempted, which came on Dec.
Numbers To Know
- 2: Jahmir Young is the second active leading career scorer in the NCAA with 2,063+today points.
- 2: Walk-on Lucas Sotell scored his first career points.
- 3: Julian Reese scored 20-plus points for the third time in his career.
- 5: Caleum Swanton-Roger scored a career-high five points.
- 7: DeShawn Harris-Smith has a steal in all seven games this season.
- 11: Julian Reese had his 11th career double-double (fourth this season).
- 12: 12 different Terps scored in the game, after only four scored in the win over South Alabama last Saturday.
- 21: Maryland made 21 free throws in the first half, their most in a first half since also making 21 vs. Hofstra on Nov. 29, 2003.
- 27: The Terrapins' 27-point lead at halftime was their largest halftime lead since a 32 point halftime lead against St. Mary's College of Maryland on Nov. 17, 2016 (54-22).
- 111: Jahmir Young scored in double-figures for the 111th time in his career.
Up Next
- Maryland will play its first Big Ten game of the season on Friday, Dec. 1 when it travels to Bloomington, Indiana for a matchup against the Hoosiers. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm on Big Ten Network and the Maryland Sports Radio Network.
