The Maryland Terrapins came out of their shell after a heartbreaking loss and crushed the Wake Forrest Demon Deacons 86-60 at Comcast Center.
Frustrated and upset after losing to Florida State 73-71 on a last second shot on the road, they took their pain out on the Demon Deacons by shooting nearly 70 percent from the field while earning their most lopsided ACC victory of the year.
Senior sharpshooter Logan Aronhault led the trouncing with 13 points. He connected on 5 of 6 shots including 3-of-4 on three pointers. He was not the only Terp hitting from beyond the arc as the team shot an astounding 11-16 from three-point-land.
The shooting accuracy was contagious. Senior James Padgett was a crazy 6-for-6 and, along with Jake Layman and Alex Len, added 12 points to the scoring frenzy. All in all, six Terps scored in double figures on a day when the offense was clicking on all cylinders. Layman led the three-point barrage connecting on 4-of-6 from long distance.
Freshman guard Seth Allen broke out of a shooting slump going 3-4 on 3-pointers, and also finished with 12 points.
Len also collected nine rebounds and was more assertive after having his worst game of the year against the Seminoles. Maryland out-rebounded Wake Forrest 42-21 to end a two-game losing streak.
They are now 16-6, including 4-5 in ACC play, good for seventh place in the league with nine ACC games remaining before the league tournament. They are 14-1 at home but only 1-4 on the road.
The Terps will have to pick up some road wins if they expect to get any serious consideration for the NCAA Tournament. They also have a home date with Duke where a victory would go a long way in determining their post season fate.
The Terrapins scored the first basket of the game and never looked back. They had a 23-11 lead with 10 minutes to play in the first half. A Dez Wells layup gave them a 30-19 advantage with 6:45 to play before halftime.
Wells added 11 points to the feel-good victory. An Aronhault 3-pointer put the Terps up by 17 at halftime, 42-25.
The Deamon Deacons were steamrolled by the Terrapins in the first half and never recovered. They were behind by 20 points the entire second half and the difference reached 30 points with 5:18 to play and again when the score was 86-56 with just 62 seconds left to play in the game.
Wake Forrest, 10-11 and 3-6 in ACC play, were led in scoring by Travis McKie who scored 15 points and led the team with six rebounds. Codi Miller-McIntyre added 14 as the Demon Deacons find themselves in ninth place in the league standings.
