Harris-Smith shines in debut as Maryland wins season opener

COLLEGE PARK — DeShawn Harris-Smith became the first true freshman to start a Maryland season opener in five years. And in one game, he gave Terrapins fans a glimpse of why he’s been so highly regarded entering this season.

The Woodbridge, Virginia, native scored 12 points, pulled down eight rebounds and dished out two assists as Maryland put together a clunky-looking showing but did enough for its 10th straight season-opening win, beating Mount St. Mary’s 68-53 on Tuesday night.

“It was great,” Harris-Smith said. “I had my family out there, my whole high school team [Paul VI] came, so I had a lot of confidence. Like really felt like a hometown hero almost. I had a lot of fans and stuff, all my family was here. I mean, so it was great to go out there, fight, get the win with my guys.”

Julian Reese added a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds, and Donta Scott scored all nine of his points in the second half. Reese sat for the bulk of the second half with four fouls, and Maryland looked inconsistent offensively. But through defense and physicality, the Terrapins capitalized against the sluggish Mountaineers.

“I feel like I still left a lot of points out there, and I could have got a couple more rebounds,” Reese said. “But nonetheless, I’m very proud of myself and very proud of my team for getting the win.”

Jahmir Young added 12 points for Maryland (1-0), which won its 46th straight home opener, the third-longest streak of its kind in the country.

“For them to be as connected as they were — we had some big breakdowns at times — but again, for them to be connected on what we were trying to do, that’s what I find encouraging,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said.

The action went uncontrolled early, as one would expect from two teams who hadn’t played competitive basketball in eight months. Reese had Maryland’s first five points en route to nine in the half, with three rebounds.

Willard went to his bench early and often, working through his substitutions deep and quickly. Ten different Terrapins saw the floor in the game’s first 8 minutes, something Willard emphasized he was excited to do in the preseason, but needs to tweak the implementation.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do with that, to be honest with you,” Willard said. “That’s the first time we’ve had 11 guys able to play, so I felt like I spent too much time trying to sub and not enough time trying to figure some things out. So I’ve got a lot of work to do with that.”

Freshman Jamie Kaiser Jr. made one of only two Maryland 3-pointers in the half, with his first bucket as a Terrapin ending a nearly 4-minute cold streak and pushing Maryland to a 10-4 lead.

“I thought the freshmen played phenomenal. I thought that was much better than I anticipated,” Willard said. “I thought they did fantastic especially from a defensive standpoint. They were in the right spots. They made the right rotations. They didn’t hurt us defensively. Offensively, they’re gonna have their struggles, and they’re gonna have games when they play really well, but I thought all three of them played really well.”

Jahari Long helped provide some separation with another three, Harris-Smith took a rebound and turned it into a coast-to-coast layup, and Maryland put together a 7-0 run to take control in the first half, 25-14.

Self-inflicted mistakes, including miscommunication on offense which led to turnovers, hampered the Mountaineers (0-1). Their only successful 3-pointer in seven tries in the first was their final basket of the half.

Harris-Smith showed his all-around versatility as the second half opened, finding Young for a dime above the rim to extend the Maryland lead to 39-21. He came up cramping immediately after though, and took a quick massage gun session to his right thigh on the bench before reentering.

“It was just a cramp,” Harris-Smith said. “The manager was making fun of me saying I was a little too dramatic.”

Harris-Smith, the top-rated high school recruit coming out of Virginia this year, wasn’t daunted by the stage of his first NCAA game. It was eye-opening, though, to see the Mountaineers’ athleticism.  

“Just seeing like the athleticism and size every team’s got at the college level,” Harris-Smith said. “Everybody’s got 6-9 guys that can jump out the gym. And I’m used to seeing Jordan [Geronimo] every day but this team’s got three, multiple guys as tall and can jump like that. That was definitely the most surprising part.”

Harris-Smith didn’t make another field goal after his muscle spasm, and Reese exited soon after with his fourth foul. That’s when Scott and Young went to work, combining for 13 of Maryland’s first 19 points in the second half after only accounting for four in the first. The closer-like role is one Scott played multiple times last season.

“It’s tough to play against smaller teams sometimes when you’re bigger,” Willard said. “So Dante, I think he played great, I’ve just got to get him more involved in the offense, and that’s a tough lineup for me to do that.”

To illustrate how clunky of a game it was: Scott’s three-pointer with 10:48 remaining was the only field goal Maryland made for nearly 8 minutes. When Reese slammed home a dunk for the next one 7:51 later, Maryland still led by 14, 61-47, thanks to a bevy of foul shots.