Herd basketball routed by Maryland

The Marshall men’s basketball team lost Friday 104-67 to the Maryland Terrapins at the Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland.

“That wasn’t a game, that was a trouncing,” Marshall men’s basketball head coach Dan D’Antoni said. “They played extremely well, they punched us in the mouth and we didn’t get back up.”

The Herd moved to 4-1 on the season and Maryland improved to 6-0.

Marshall held a 24-23 lead with just under nine minutes left in the first half before Maryland took the lead on a 3-point shot by freshman guard Serrel Smith Jr. off a Marshall turnover. Momentum shifted in Maryland’s favor for the remainder of the half and Maryland outscored Marshall 27-14 in the remaining minutes of the half.

Overall, Maryland shot 35-for-61 (57.4 percent) from the field, 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) from beyond the arch and 25-for-36 (69.4 percent) from the foul line. The Terrapins outshot Marshall in every category. The Herd shot 25-for-73 (34.2 percent) from the field, 8-for-31 (25.8 percent) from beyond the arch and 9-for-14 (64.3 percent) from the line.

Maryland’s junior guard Anthony Cowan Jr. led the team with 26 points and freshman guard Eric Ayala had the best shooting performance for the Terps. Ayala scored 20 points and shot 6-for-8 from the field, 5-for-6 in 3-point range and 3-for-4 from the line. Additionally, Maryland’s sophomore forward Bruno Fernando had a double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds.

“There was probably some rumblings going around that we were gonna lose tonight,” Maryland head basketball coach Mark Turgeon said. “Tonight, I could tell they were focused because Marshall’s a good team and they’re a great program.”

Despite the loss, Marshall sophomore forward Jannson Williams had a career-high scoring night with 24 points. Williams shot 9-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 from 3-point range.

“[Williams] was ready, he was playing our stuff and it worked for him,” D’Antoni said.

Conversely, Marshall senior guard Jon Elmore scored a season-low six points on three rebounds, and three assists. However, Elmore’s six points propelled him to third place in all-time scoring in Marshall program history. He is just 15 points shy of becoming the third player in program history to reach 2,000 career points.

The Herd returns to the Cam Henderson Center to face William & Mary Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Sydney Shelton can be contacted at [email protected].