No. 2 Maryland Overpowers Bowie State 93-62
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Taking a break from its rigorous Big Ten schedule, No. 2 Maryland enjoyed a stress-free encounter against an overmatched foe.
In the process, the Terrapins broke a school record that had stood for 35 years.
Rasheed Sulaimon scored 16 points, and Maryland's reserves received plenty of playing time in a 93-62 victory over Bowie State on Tuesday night.
After grinding through 12 straight Big Ten games, the Terrapins (22-3) eagerly welcomed the chance to face Bowie State, a Division II school in Maryland.
"The best thing is, we shared the minutes," coach Mark Turgeon said. "Everybody got to play."
Turgeon went to his bench early and received a solid performance from backup center Michal Cekovsky, who usually sees little playing time behind Diamond Stone and Damonte Dodd.
Cekovsky scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half to help the Terrapins take a 47-29 lead. His previous career high was 10.
Miles Jackson scored 13 points for the Bulldogs (13-10), a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
It was the school-record 27th consecutive home victory for the Terrapins, a streak that eclipses a 26-game run at Cole Field House from Feb. 10, 1979, to Jan. 10, 1981. The Terrapins are 14-0 at home this season and haven't lost on their own court since falling to Virginia on Dec. 3, 2014.
Maryland originally considered facing Bowie State in a preseason exhibition, but the Terps asked for this regular-season date because they didn't want to go a week without a playing a game.
"It kind of keeps us in our rhythm instead of playing Saturday to Saturday," Turgeon said. "We got to prepare for a team and played the game with a crowd. The good thing is, we didn't have to play guys a lot of minutes."
Although Maryland's reserves saw ample playing time, each member of the usual starting five played at least 16 minutes. Sulaimon went 7 for 10 from the field and Stone had 14 points.
"It was a game. We put on a jersey just like they did," Sulaimon said. "We did some things really well tonight. But it's all a part of the process. We didn't use this to take a day off or anything like that."
The intensity that accompanied last Saturday's home win over Purdue was noticeably absent. Although attendance was announced as a sellout at 17,950, the arena was just over half full.
It was apparent early that Maryland was too tall, too quick and way too talented for Bowie State. The Bulldogs picked up nine fouls in the opening 6 1/2 minutes in falling behind 14-5. A 3-pointer by reserve Jaylen Brantley and two straight dunks by Cekovsky made it 21-7.
The Terrapins made only two more baskets than Bowie State in the first half, but outscored the Bulldogs 19-4 at the free throw line and owned a 25-12 advantage on the boards.
The second half was more of the same.
GAINING EXPERIENCE
Brantley scored 10 points over a game-high 21 minutes and Cekovsky played 18 minutes.
Turgeon can only hope each player will benefit from his performance.
"You hope it gives them confidence moving forward," Turgeon said. "I do think that Jaylen played with a lot of confidence on offense."
Said Brantley: "It gives Coach Turgeon confidence in me. Sees that I'm ready to play with the guys. I think it was good."
TIP-INS
Bowie State: The defeat ended the Bulldogs' two-game winning streak. ... After scoring 20 and 21 points in his previous two games, Andre Jackson was limited to nine points on 2-for-8 shooting. ... Bowie State's previous most lopsided loss of the season was by 13 points, at Alderson-Broaddus on Nov. 21.
Maryland: Sophomore guard Melo Trimble, the team's leading scorer, had five points and three assists before leaving with 13:13 left. ... Maryland finished with a 39-27 rebounding advantage. ... This was the first meeting between the teams in the regular season. They played an exhibition in 2014.
UP NEXT
Bowie State: Hosts Virginia Union on Wednesday night.
Maryland: Hosts Wisconsin on Saturday.
(Copyright 2016 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
