When Cliff Tucker swished a shot from behind the arc to start the Terrapin men’s basketball team’s scoring against Maine yesterday, he figured something was going to go right.
“I knew once I made the first,” Tucker said, “I could keep shooting the same way and make a lot more shots.”
The senior caught fire in the first half, going four of five from behind the arc and scoring 16 points. And when his hot streak cooled in the second half, he didn’t need to force the issue. The Terps were well on their way to an 89-59 victory against the Black Bears, their third straight to start the season.
“I’m not the type of guy to force shots,” Tucker said. “My coaches got on me a little bit [in the second half]. They told me to shoot the ball a little bit more. But we had a big lead, so I’m not worried about scoring. I had a big first half, and the second half was kind of quiet. But the main thing is we won the game.”
Tucker sparked the team, scoring eight of the first 10 points and assisting on the other two.
And when he slowed down, his teammates were there to pick up the slack. The Terp bench scored 38 points, including 20 in the second half.
Guard Terrell Stoglin led the bench with 14 points. Forward Haukur Palsson made all six of his free throws and ended with eight points, and forward James Padgett and guard Pe’Shon Howard each scored five.
Substitutes again became part of the story because of the performance of starters Sean Mosley and Dino Gregory. The duo got into foul trouble early, keeping them out for large chunks of playing time, before ultimately fouling out with a little more than four minutes remaining.
Mosley’s scoreless day marked his second straight shaky performance. Last Wednesday, the junior scored just three points against College of Charleston.
“He’s struggling a little bit, but Sean’s a competitor,” coach Gary Williams said. “He’s gotten where he is by being a great leader and a great competitor. He’ll get it back. It’s just one of those things.”
Guard Adrian Bowie, however, rebounded — literally. After struggling at times through the Terps’ first two games, the senior point guard grabbed eight boards in addition to his nine points and five assists.
“I was talking more and letting everyone know where they needed to be, just setting the tone defensively and getting the pace where we wanted it to be,” said Bowie, who didn’t commit a turnover against Maine.
Forward Jordan Williams had his third double-double in as many games, adding 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win. He went 8-for-10 from the free-throw line, helping the team as a whole double its free-throw percentage from its close call against the Cougars on Wednesday.
“That is hard to do, unless you shoot 27 percent the last game,” Gary Williams said. “But I knew we were a better free-throw shooting team than that, so we just continued to do what we’ve always done, and things work out.”
The win against Maine interrupted the team’s ongoing participation in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. The Terps won their first two games last week to open the season, but a match against No. 5 Pittsburgh in the semifinal round Thursday night at Madison Square Garden looms.
“We’re just going to go play,” Gary Williams said. “We play a certain way, and you don’t change a lot of things for whoever you’re playing against. You see how good you are with what you do.”
kyanchulis@umdbk.com
