COLLEGE PARK - Senior shooting guard Drew Nicholas scored a career-high 28 points and set the tone for the type of rout the Maryland Terrapins anticipated last night, as the 11th-ranked Terps jumped on The Citadel quickly and cruised to a 97-49 blowout before an announced crowd of 17,053 at Comcast Center.
Unlike Sunday's season opener, when the Terps had bits of trouble with a respectable Mid-American Conference opponent in Miami (Ohio), Maryland (2-0) barely had to break a sweat to seize control of the unranked and overmatched Bulldogs, who were playing the Terps for only the third time and the first time since 1947.
Nicholas made nine of 14 shots from the field, including five of seven from three-point range, to send Maryland on its way. The Terps, who made 12 of 19 three-point attempts, also got 13 points and five assists from senior point guard Steve Blake and 12 points and four rebounds from freshman small forward Nik Caner-Medley. Freshman point guard John Gilchrist added 10 points.
Kevin Hammack led The Citadel with 19 points.
"A lot of times against teams like The Citadel, you have to jump on them early and take their confidence away," said Nicholas, who scored 17 points in the first half and has led Maryland in scoring in both of its games.
"Once I hit one shot, my confidence grew," Nicholas added. "Tonight was a little different [from Sunday's game]. We started making shots early, and our defensive intensity is right where it needs to be. We might actually be a little bit ahead for this early in the season."
The Terps smothered and swarmed the slower and smaller Bulldogs with full-court pressure and active man-to-man defense, blocking 11 shots and forcing 30 turnovers by The Citadel (1-2), which was coming off a 57-51 loss to Navy. The Bulldogs became Maryland's 86th consecutive home-court, nonconference victim, the longest such streak in the nation.
It was a good night for coach Gary Williams to get Maryland's numerous young players involved, and Williams cleared his entire bench, even sending walk-on sophomore forward Darien Henry into the game with 1:20 left. Caner-Medley, Gilchrist and fellow freshmen Travis Garrison and Chris McCray (five points, two steals) each played at least 12 minutes.
Eleven different players scored for the Terps, whose bench outscored that of the Bulldogs, 44-9. The Terps converted 45 points off of turnovers and outscored The Citadel in the paint, 38-12.
Besides Henry, the only Maryland player who failed to score was senior forward Tahj Holden, who went 0-for-4 from the field and missed both of his free-throw attempts, but did contribute four assists and two blocks.
"I thought the young guys looked more comfortable than they did on Sunday, which is really good to see," Williams said. 'They are starting to feel comfortable enough in the offense where they just react, rather than having to think every time they are supposed to cut or set a screen. They just do it.
"I thought our defense was consistently aggressive. We were more aggressive in the half-court, where we went out and got our hands on balls and still kept our positioning very well. We have better players. We go a lot deeper than [the Bulldogs] do. The only way that game doesn't go like that is if we allow it to happen."
The Terps were not about to allow anything but a one-sided laugher to occur last night. With Nicholas and Blake leading the early charge, Maryland was unfazed by the Bulldogs' 2-3 zone defense while bolting to a 24-5 lead with 11:36 left in the first half. At that point, Williams already had rotated all five of his newcomers, including junior forward Jamar Smith (four points, nine rebounds) into the game.
Caner-Medley then put on a little show over the next four minutes by scoring six consecutive Maryland points. First, he converted a three-point play, followed that with a fast-break lay-up, then made one of two free throws, giving the Terps a 30-11 lead with 7:51 left in the half.
"All of the freshmen stepped up like everybody else stepped up tonight," Caner-Medley said. "Every time we step on the floor, we learn new things and we get better at new things."
The closest The Citadel would get was 34-15 with 4:48 to go in the first half. The Terps, with their five-senior starting lineup back on the floor for the final six minutes of the half, closed strong. Nicholas, Blake and Calvin McCall combined for nine points down the stretch, giving Maryland a 43-17 advantage at halftime.
That marked the fewest points allowed in any half since the Terps held Princeton to 17 second-half points in last year's BB&T Classic.
"Maryland is so fast, and their speed is just awesome," Bulldogs coach Pat Dennis said. "There is absolutely no substitute for speed and quickness, and we just couldn't match it. I was really shocked at how we handled the press. I didn't think the press would bother us as much as it did."
NOTES: Maryland has allowed 98 points in its first two games, marking its best defensive start since allowing a combined 91 points to Penn State and North Carolina State to begin the 1966-67 season. ... Nicholas moved into eighth place on the school's all-time three-pointer list with 108.
Unlike Sunday's season opener, when the Terps had bits of trouble with a respectable Mid-American Conference opponent in Miami (Ohio), Maryland (2-0) barely had to break a sweat to seize control of the unranked and overmatched Bulldogs, who were playing the Terps for only the third time and the first time since 1947.
Nicholas made nine of 14 shots from the field, including five of seven from three-point range, to send Maryland on its way. The Terps, who made 12 of 19 three-point attempts, also got 13 points and five assists from senior point guard Steve Blake and 12 points and four rebounds from freshman small forward Nik Caner-Medley. Freshman point guard John Gilchrist added 10 points.
Kevin Hammack led The Citadel with 19 points.
"A lot of times against teams like The Citadel, you have to jump on them early and take their confidence away," said Nicholas, who scored 17 points in the first half and has led Maryland in scoring in both of its games.
"Once I hit one shot, my confidence grew," Nicholas added. "Tonight was a little different [from Sunday's game]. We started making shots early, and our defensive intensity is right where it needs to be. We might actually be a little bit ahead for this early in the season."
The Terps smothered and swarmed the slower and smaller Bulldogs with full-court pressure and active man-to-man defense, blocking 11 shots and forcing 30 turnovers by The Citadel (1-2), which was coming off a 57-51 loss to Navy. The Bulldogs became Maryland's 86th consecutive home-court, nonconference victim, the longest such streak in the nation.
It was a good night for coach Gary Williams to get Maryland's numerous young players involved, and Williams cleared his entire bench, even sending walk-on sophomore forward Darien Henry into the game with 1:20 left. Caner-Medley, Gilchrist and fellow freshmen Travis Garrison and Chris McCray (five points, two steals) each played at least 12 minutes.
Eleven different players scored for the Terps, whose bench outscored that of the Bulldogs, 44-9. The Terps converted 45 points off of turnovers and outscored The Citadel in the paint, 38-12.
Besides Henry, the only Maryland player who failed to score was senior forward Tahj Holden, who went 0-for-4 from the field and missed both of his free-throw attempts, but did contribute four assists and two blocks.
"I thought the young guys looked more comfortable than they did on Sunday, which is really good to see," Williams said. 'They are starting to feel comfortable enough in the offense where they just react, rather than having to think every time they are supposed to cut or set a screen. They just do it.
"I thought our defense was consistently aggressive. We were more aggressive in the half-court, where we went out and got our hands on balls and still kept our positioning very well. We have better players. We go a lot deeper than [the Bulldogs] do. The only way that game doesn't go like that is if we allow it to happen."
The Terps were not about to allow anything but a one-sided laugher to occur last night. With Nicholas and Blake leading the early charge, Maryland was unfazed by the Bulldogs' 2-3 zone defense while bolting to a 24-5 lead with 11:36 left in the first half. At that point, Williams already had rotated all five of his newcomers, including junior forward Jamar Smith (four points, nine rebounds) into the game.
Caner-Medley then put on a little show over the next four minutes by scoring six consecutive Maryland points. First, he converted a three-point play, followed that with a fast-break lay-up, then made one of two free throws, giving the Terps a 30-11 lead with 7:51 left in the half.
"All of the freshmen stepped up like everybody else stepped up tonight," Caner-Medley said. "Every time we step on the floor, we learn new things and we get better at new things."
The closest The Citadel would get was 34-15 with 4:48 to go in the first half. The Terps, with their five-senior starting lineup back on the floor for the final six minutes of the half, closed strong. Nicholas, Blake and Calvin McCall combined for nine points down the stretch, giving Maryland a 43-17 advantage at halftime.
That marked the fewest points allowed in any half since the Terps held Princeton to 17 second-half points in last year's BB&T Classic.
"Maryland is so fast, and their speed is just awesome," Bulldogs coach Pat Dennis said. "There is absolutely no substitute for speed and quickness, and we just couldn't match it. I was really shocked at how we handled the press. I didn't think the press would bother us as much as it did."
NOTES: Maryland has allowed 98 points in its first two games, marking its best defensive start since allowing a combined 91 points to Penn State and North Carolina State to begin the 1966-67 season. ... Nicholas moved into eighth place on the school's all-time three-pointer list with 108.