The Terps went winless at the Asheville Championship.
Maryland men’s basketball was down 12 points to UAB midway through the second half. Relying on its dynamic backcourt of Jahmir Young and Deshawn Harris-Smith, the Terps battled back to cut UAB’s lead to two with 31 seconds remaining.
But the Terps’ comeback attempt fell just short. Harris-Smith missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer to seal Maryland’s second consecutive loss, 66-63.
Maryland (1-2) was the only team not to win a game in the Asheville Championship, previously losing to Davidson on Friday.
Young was the Terps’ leading scorer in both tournament games, scoring 18 points against Davidson and 14 points against UAB (1-2). Harris-Smith finished second on the team in scoring Sunday with 13, 11 of which came in the second half.
Maryland got out to a fast start, obtaining an 11-point lead 14 minutes in. However, the Terps allowed UAB to hang around, and the combination of 10 turnovers and a four-minute scoring drought to end the half helped the Blazers diminish the advantage to six.
Young, Julian Reese and Donta Scott were the primary contributors to the early lead — combining for 16 of Maryland’s 30 points in the first half — but the bench provided a spark as well. Jahari Long and Jamie Kaiser Jr. each contributed five points and hit a 3-pointer, while Caelum Swanton-Rodger added two points and five rebounds in six minutes.
Maryland’s poor play at the end of the first half bled into the beginning of second half, though. Scott fouled Eric Gaines on a 3-pointer, and then a bad pass by Noah Batchelor led to a fast-break dunk to tie the game only a few minutes into the period.
The game continued to drift away from the Terps. Turnovers and offensive rebounds were prevalent in UAB’s ensuing 16-1 run, which put Maryland in a 10-point hole. The Terps committed six turnovers in the second half and allowed five offensive rebounds.
Just as it had done against Davidson, Maryland clawed back and earned an opportunity to tie the game with a 3-pointer as time expired, but again could not connect.
Maryland’s 3-point shooting struggles over its first two games did not stop the Terps from letting it fly against UAB. They hoisted up seven 3-pointers in the opening 10 minutes of play, and surprisingly made three. They finished the game shooting 6-for-23 from three.
Three things to know
1. Batchelor got the start. Batchelor, a sophomore, earned his second career start against the Blazers, a move Willard made to provide more shooting. Batchelor finished the game with zero points on 0-for-2 shooting and a rebound.
2. Turnovers. Maryland committed a season-high 15 turnovers, primarily on lazy passes. UAB scored 22 points off these turnovers, while Maryland scored just 12 points off turnovers.
3. Reese was neutralized. Reese was Maryland’s best player over the first two games of the season, but was relatively ineffective against UAB. The junior scored just five points on 1-for-4 shooting and fouled out with three minutes remaining.