Maryland overwhelms Florida Southern in exhibition
Late in the first half of Monday night’s exhibition game at Comcast Center, the Maryland band struck up its version of “Born to Run.”
Coming during a devastating blitz, it was an appropriate anthem for the Terps on their way to a 106-58 romp over Division II Florida Southern.
For those concerned with how Maryland will compensate for the loss of its top three scorers from last year’s 24-9 team, the Terps had a one-word answer — speed.
During a seven-minute sprint, the Terps overwhelmed the Moccasins with a 34-3 run, which was all about Maryland’s staples of the Gary Williams Era — pressure defense and up-tempo offense.
Propelling the Terps were guards Cliff Tucker (15 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals), Sean Mosley (16 points, 6 rebounds), and Adrian Bowie (15 points, 6 assists), who hit a combined 19 of 27 shots from the floor, and slimmed-down sophomore forward Jordan Williams (18 points, 7 rebounds), now built for Maryland’s high-octane attack.
Of the Terps newcomers, freshman guard Terrell Stoglin (9 points, 4 rebounds) showed quickness and skill, 6-6 freshman Haukur Palsson (8 points, 5 rebounds), demonstrated perimeter marksmanship, and 6-10 junior transfer Berend Weijs (5 rebounds, 4 blocks) exhibited defensive presence.
The most impressive Terp was Tucker, a reserve for three seasons who has been seemingly stuck in neutral. But Monday night, Tucker showed, with a starting job his to lose, he might be ready to shift into overdrive.
During one sequence, he hit a 3-pointer, followed with a backcourt steal and a layup, then came down with a defensive rebound and led a fast break, dishing to senior Dino Gregory (9 points, 7 rebounds) for an emphatic dunk.
