The Terrapins men’s lacrosse team was tired.

Battles with the nation’s top two teams left the Terps wary, and four straight away games forced them to travel long hours. The players had to balance doing schoolwork with paying attention to detail on the field.

So their 10-day break before downing North Carolina on Saturday helped the Terps refresh, and now they’re ready to tackle the second half of the 2016 campaign, starting with a midweek clash at Penn on Tuesday afternoon. Last week’s down time allowed them a chance to self-scout and make some adjustments, preparation they feel poised to build on as conference play approaches.

“Having that weekend off last week was a big thing for us to catch our breath,” coach John Tillman said. “Some guys … have been putting a lot of mileage in, and we just felt like getting them a little bit of a break and just kind of a reset was really important.”

To combat North Carolina’s attack, which averaged 13.5 goals entering the bout in College Park, Tillman said the Terps simplified their defense. Instead of adjusting to every Tar Heels’ look, they organized a basic game plan with set formations to limit confusion and miscommunication.

In the fourth quarter, the defense endured three shots and two ground balls in one North Carolina possession, so Tillman called a timeout to give the defense a breather. Midfielder Isaiah Davis-Allen then caused a turnover that led to attackman Dylan Maltz pushing the Terps’ lead to 10-6 on the other end.

The sixth-year coach also contemplated stopping play again as the Tar Heels scored two fourth-quarter goals in the game’s final minute and five seconds. While he didn’t, he knows the freshness of his backline will be key to stopping the Penn attack, which ranks third in the Ivy League in goals per game.

“As long as we were organized, we felt like we had a better chance at forced shots,” Tillman said. “There were times where they dodged once, [so] we had to slide and recover, and then again, and then again.”

The Terps adjusted offensively, too, as the combined eight points from the team’s three starting attackmen — Matt Rambo, Colin Heacock and Maltz — resulted from what Tillman said was an emphasis on ball movement in recent practices.

“Sometimes early in the season there was a lot of watching, and we weren’t attacking the inside; we weren’t finding the gaps in the backside,” Tillman said. “That’s one thing like the entire staff has been harping on.”

Davis-Allen, who spent his free time watching film and focusing on his footwork and agility, said the extra week gave his team “an extra edge.” The junior came through Saturday, recording three grounds balls and two caused turnovers in the Terps’ win over the Tar Heels.

But the team also had a chance to spend time with one another away from the field. And by the time they returned to practice Monday, Tillman could see they were excited to return to the grind of the season.

The second half of that schedule starts Tuesday afternoon in Philadelphia.