Kaiser, Long lead Maryland’s 3-point barrage in win over Nebraska

COLLEGE PARK — Jahmir Young had been carrying Maryland for most of the last month, oftentimes the sole heartbeat of the Terrapins’ scant NCAA Tournament hopes.

On Saturday afternoon, he was helped by contributions off the bench that Terrapins fans have been waiting to see all season.

Jaime Kaiser Jr. and Jahari Long combined for 22 first-half points, leading an unexpected Maryland 3-point shooting barrage against the Big Ten’s best in that category, and Julian Reese added his 10th double-double of the season as the Terrapins rolled to a 73-51 win over Nebraska.

“I’ve been saying all along this team is going to get better and better as the season goes on. What we saw in November wasn’t even close to what we’re going to … and I still think that we’re going to get better,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “Offensively, we’re going to get better and if we continue to play defense the way we’re playing, I’ll play against anybody.”

Kaiser hadn’t made a three in his last four games. The freshman drained 3-of-4 in the first half and finished with a career-high 14 points. Long, who is now 8-of-10 from that range in his last three games, finished with 11 points, all in the first half. 

“I just trusted myself,” Long said of his hot streak. “Every day we work on shooting. Every day, I come in the gym and shoot. So the main thing was just coming in and being confident. That’s what the coaches are tell me all the time. So that’s all I was, I was just more confident than ever.”

Willard said Kaiser was down while on the bench during Maryland’s late-game win at Iowa Wednesday. So the coach had a “one-way” conversation - “I said, eventually, you’re going to make a shot, and when you do, it’s going to be over” - to pump up and motivate the young Virginian.

“I approached him during the week and I was just telling them like, my offense hasn’t been clicking all year pretty much but I want to do everything I can to help the team win,” Kaiser said. “And he said, yeah, keep doing that, but just keep shooting. He said I have complete and total confidence in you. And I really appreciate that from him. And I’m just glad it happened today.”

Reese scored 15 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, bringing his season total to 212, second-most in the Big Ten. Donta Scott had nine points, and his four rebounds moved him past 800 for his Maryland career. He’s only the fifth player in Terrapins’ history to record at least 800 rebounds and 1,500 points. 

Young finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, and had his load lightened considerably by 25 points scored by Maryland’s bench. 

“I think at home, he almost defers to other guys, so I think those guys coming in, making shots just kind of helped him relax a little bit,” Willard said.

The Cornhuskers average 9.5 made threes a game, the best in the conference, and would net 10 Saturday. Their seven makes in the first half would cause the Terrapins to fall behind by 10 points for the fourth straight game.

With its conference-worst 29% success rate from three, Maryland (12-8, 5-5 Big Ten) unexpectedly answered the bell, matching Nebraska in the first half (7-of-17) and finishing 11-26 (42.3%). It’s the first time since at least the 2008-09 season that Maryland has overcome a 10-point deficit in back-to-back games.

The shotmaking started early at a breakneck pace, with the Huskers draining four threes in the first 4:30 and a 12-2 lead. Nebraska used a double team and tight man coverage on Young to start, not allowing him much space to work with.

The Huskers (15-6, 5-5) continued their torrid pace from distance, making seven threes in the first half, nearly their entire average output per game. But in a shocking twist, Maryland joined the barrage. 

The Terrapins missed their first three attempts from beyond the arc, but went on a 5-of-6 run, all from Kaiser and Long. Of the game’s first 26 points, 24 came off of 3-pointers, including Nebraska’s first 15, as Maryland took its first lead, 21-20, after Kaiser’s third three.

“They were hitting a lot of threes, getting a lot open threes,” Reese said. “Even when we fell back in the game, just cutting that off, it was pretty easy from there.”

Jordan Geronimo’s three blocks and two steals in the game’s early stages helped keep Nebraska in check, and Maryland’s defense picked up and joined his effort into halftime, not allowing a Nebraska field goal for the final 7:23 of the first half. 

“At the beginning of the season, Jordan was lost from a defensive standpoint. We only had three guys who really knew what they were doing defensively,” Willard said. “So I think what what I’ve seen mostly is that these guys have really picked up what we’re trying to do defensively. And DeShawn [Harris-Smith] and Jamie are no longer hurting us. They are actually helping us tremendously. They’re both smart defenders.”

The Terrapins stepped on the gas, outscoring Nebraska 15-2 over that span to take a 44-27 lead at the break after their best first-half performance of the season. If the Terrapins were tired after playing three games in the last seven days, they didn’t show it, even with no practice and only a couple of walkthroughs after a late-night return after the Iowa win.

“Every time I’ve done that with with this team, they’ve come out and struggled a little bit. So I really wasn’t that worried about it,” Willard said. “I know they were getting open threes, but it was only a matter of time.”

After Nebraska scored the first three points of the second half, Maryland took charge again with five points from Reese powering an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 52-32. 

As they did late in the first half, the Terrapins dominated the interior, winning the overall rebounding battle 43-25. The battle included an overwhelming 17-3 advantage on the offensive glass.

“That’s definitely a point of emphasis with this team, especially since we’re not really the tallest team,” Reese said. “We try to play with the most heart and just try to take care of rebounding and the little things like that, and sometimes that … can be the decider of the game down the stretch.”

Nebraska wouldn’t get any closer than 20 in the second half as it didn’t make a basket for the final 4:44. The Huskers are still winless this season on the road in Big Ten play. Maryland has a week off before traveling to Michigan State next Saturday.