The Maryland men’s basketball team defeated Saint Peter’s on Saturday afternoon, 66-56. The Terps are now 10-1 and have won three straight games with two contests remaining until Big Ten play. Here are four takeaways from the victory:

Offense plays inside out

In Maryland’s 79-56 win over Howard on Wednesday, the Terps failed to attack the paint. They chucked up 3-pointers, a tactic that resulted in the Bison taking the lead with about eight minutes remaining in the first half. After coach Mark Turgeon yelled at his team to play with more energy, the Terps were aggressive in driving to the basket and passing to forward Michal Cekovsky down low in the second half.

Those struggles have been a similar theme for the Terps at the beginning of games, forcing them to come back from three double-digit deficits.

But against the Peacocks on Saturday, the Terps didn’t wait to move the ball into the paint. As a result, Maryland found open shots all around the court. The Terps, who entered Saturday shooting 30.5 percent from beyond the arc, connected on 62.5 percent of their three-pointers in the first half Saturday. While Cekovsky carried the load near the basket Wednesday, forward Justin Jackson dominated the Peacocks in the paint, scoring a game-high 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

“We really defended and shot the ball well,” Turgeon said. “We’ve only had two good first halves the whole year, and that was one of them.”

Melo Trimble rests

Turgeon has expressed how important it will be to rest Trimble, who entered Saturday with a team-high 18.4 points per game, the rest in the nonconference slate. The sixth-year coach, however, hasn’t had that luxury while the Terps have played in close contests.

Entering Saturday, he had played under 30 minutes in just two contests — both of which came against mid-major foes. Maryland has won three games by one point, and Trimble scored the game-winning points in each of them. Whenever Maryland is struggling, the junior slows the game down and takes over.

It was a different story Saturday. Trimble didn’t attempt a shot in the first half. His first attempt didn’t come until the 19:09 mark of the second half — a three-pointer he drained from the left wing. Guard Anthony Cowan said Trimble was just following “the flow” of the game.

He finished with 5 points on 2-for-4 shooting, and played his second fewest minutes this season (26). The Upper Marlboro perhaps could’ve gotten more rest if the Terps didn’t get outscored 38-26 in the second half.

Freshmen step up

It had been awhile since Maryland’s freshman trio of Cowan, Jackson and guard Kevin Huerter all had standout performances in one game. The last instance came when the freshmen combined for 46 points in Maryland’s 88-82 overtime win over Richmond on Nov. 25.

With Trimble spreading the ball around Saturday, the rookies scored 41 points. Jackson, who entered Saturday with the second most points on the team (10.4), scored a game-high 19 and grabbed five rebounds. Huerter added 14 on 3-for-6 three-point shooting. Cowan recorded eight points and assisted on three baskets while facilitating the offense.

“Kevin hasn’t been hitting as many shots, but he’s been doing a lot of other things,” Cowan said. “For him to see his shot finally go in should give him more confidence.”

Second-half breakdown

Maryland usually thrives in the second half after struggling to start. It was the other way around Saturday.

After posting 40 points in the opening frame, the Terps got outscored, 38-26, in the second half. The Terps allowed Saint Peter’s to shoot 48.4 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from the three-point line. Meanwhile, Maryland shot 28 percent.

The Terps struggled to defend driving lanes and close out on shooters, allowing guards Chazz Patterson and Trevis Wyche to combin for 25 in the frame.

Turgeon said his multiple substitutions in the half was a factor into his team failing to find a rhythm. The sixth-year coach was encouraged with his squad’s shot selection, but when the Terps’ shots weren’t falling, Huerter said, they got discouraged.

Turgeon’s “message after the game is we still haven’t put together a full game,” Huerter said. “Today we finally had a good first half, but we didn’t come out with energy in the second half. We still got to work to put together 40 minutes.”