Michigan State fears no turtle in 91-48 rout of Maryland
The Spartans easily defeat the Terrapins in a Saturday matinee, marking one of the largest margins of victory in Big Ten play for the program.
No. 10 Michigan State returned home from a west coast trip and showed no signs of travel fatigue as it dominated Maryland from opening tip until final buzzer. The Terrapins, boasting just one conference win so far on the season, were no match for the Spartans as MSU cruised to a 91-48 victory in front of an announced crowd of 14,797 fans that ignored the frigid temperatures to watch inside the Breslin Center.
MSU improves to 18-2 on the season and an 8-1 conference record. UMD drops to 8-12 overall and 1-8 in league action.
Jeremy Fears Jr. notched a double-double on the day, hitting the game high in scoring with 17 points and assists with 17. Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler each added 17 points and eight rebounds apiece, while Coen Carr also scored 14. Cooper led the team in steals with three.
Maryland native Cam Ward finished the afternoon a perfect 3-for-3 from the field for eight points including a 2-for-4 mark from the free throw line. Ward also led the team in blocks with two. Hailing from the Virginia suburbs near the Maryland border, Jordan Scott also added eight points that included 2-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc while adding a steal.
Elijah Saunders led UMD with 13 points while David Coit added 11.
First Half
This one was essentially over shortly after it started. MSU scored first and never looked back after it mounted a 15-0 run from 17:09 to 11:54 and added a 9-0 run from 6:53 to 2:31 left in the first half just for good measure.
The game consisted of total dominance from start to finish for MSU, offering plenty of highlight reels for players and fans alike. The Spartans scored 19 fastbreak points in the first half, 10 points on second chance attempts, and logged 13 assists as they shared the ball generously with teammates.
By halftime, it was 46-23, meaning UMD trailed by as many points as it had scored to that point in the game.
Second Half
Michigan State came back out playing just as hard as it did in the first half, finishing with 20 points inside the paint in the second half, besting the 18 from the first. MSU added another 12 fastbreak points and kept the ball sharing going with 12 assists to teammates.
Fears tied the MSU single-game record for second-most number of assists in a game on an electrifying alley-oop pass to Carr. His 17th assist ties former Spartan Gary Ganakas and trails Mateen Cleaves's record of 20.
MSU returns to the road next with a trip to Rutgers awaiting it on Tuesday night. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time with the game set to be broadcast on FS1.