COLLEGE PARK — Maryland men's basketball forward Evan Smotrycz wasn't sure whether he would be ready to play against USC Upstate.
After reinjuring the foot he broke in October in his second game back two weeks ago, Smotryzc went through a walk-through Friday and was on the court for warm-ups early Saturday morning at Xfinity Center, hoping to resume his injury-delayed senior year.
A short conversation between Smotrycz and Terps coach Mark Turgeon before the 11 a.m. tip-off ensued.
"He just asked me before the game if I was good to go, and I said, 'Yeah,' " Smotrycz recalled a few hours later. "I told him I could give him whatever minutes he needed."
Smotrycz gave No. 19 Maryland 18 minutes off the bench, and the Terps needed nearly every one of them.
Showing a little less rust and a little more stamina than he did in his first two games this season, Smotrycz scored 10 points and pulled down six rebounds in a come-from-behind 67-57 win.
He looked much different than he did the last time he played, Nov. 30 against Virginia Military Institute. In that game, two nights after a fairly respectable six-rebound, four-point season debut in 22 minutes against Monmouth, Smotryzc reinjured his left foot against the Keydets.
He finished scoreless and with one rebound in eight first-half minutes, then sat out the second half.
Asked whether he had returned too soon from the initial injury, Smotryzc said Saturday: "It was definitely on the early side, but we were kind of trying to work my way into [the game against] Virginia. I definitely wasn't where I am now in terms of health. It was a plan, but I got reinjured, so it really didn't work out."
Early Saturday, Smotrycz retrieved his own miss and scored on a put-back early in the game, then scored underneath after freshman center Michal Cekovsky missed a layup later in the first half.
The second half saw Smotrycz hit a 3-pointer for a 41-37 lead, then score on a drive after faking a jump shot, to extend the lead to 47-39.
Smotrycz didn't think his first 3-pointer of the season was a particular boost to his confidence.
"I guess every shot's important, really." he said. "I used a little more legs. My first [attempted 3-pointer in the first half Saturday], I was kind of dead. That one was well short. It'll come."
Smotrycz isn't thinking too far ahead about what his role will be this season for a much-improved and much deeper Maryland team.
"I'm trying to get on the floor. Until that point comes that I'm healthy, I'm just trying to play," he said. "It will definitely take some time. I'm not in the best shape right now, I'm not moving the best, I'm not practicing in a while. It'll take some time, but it's coming."
His teammates were happy to have Smotrycz back Saturday.
"It was a big lift," said freshman point guard Melo Trimble, who scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for his first double double as a Terp. "Evan's smart. He was basically telling things to do and what to say to my teammates. He was very vocal out there."
Said junior forward Jake Layman, who led the Terps with 17 points: "He really stretches the floor for us, opens things up for me, Melo, the driving lanes. He's just great to have back. He's such a smart player for us."
Turgeon hasn't quite figured out how he plans to use the former Michigan transfer once the Terps reach Big Ten Conference play later this month.
"It's good to have a lot of good pieces," Turgeon said. "When we can get healthy, get Evan playing 100 percent and get [guard] Dez [Wells] back, I'll have a lot of options, and we'll figure it out game by game."