Even riding a five-game winning streak, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon wasn’t happy with practice on Friday morning. So he abruptly ended the session and told the Terps to be back at Comcast Center at 7 p.m.
“We were lacking a little. It was an early practice,” Terrell Stoglin said. “We had to get physical, [mentally] strong.”
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The morning practice, which started at 9:30 lasted roughly 30 minutes. The evening session went for approximately an hour. Maryland came out Saturday afternoon, energetic and focused in a 75-63 victory.
Stoglin (24 points, five rebounds, three assists) hit three-pointers sandwiched around an assist on a fast-break basket by Sean Mosley as Maryland scored eight straight points to take a 12-5 lead, which Samford of the Southern Conference never seriously challenged.
“I’m not going to put up with it. We have to start practicing better,” Turgeon said. “I have high expectations for this team.”
Turgeon has often complained about the Terps’ lack of attention on defense. Saturday was perhaps their best effort, however, as they didn’t yield a fast-break basket, out-rebounded Samford 40-22, and defended the perimeter well, limiting the Bulldogs to eight of 27 shooting from beyond the arc (29.6 percent).
“I thought from the 10-minute mark of the first half to the six-minute mark of the second half, we guarded well,” Turgeon said. “I was very proud of our group.”
