In his Maryland debut, Qudus Wahab scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to propel the No. 21 Terrapins to an 83-69 victory over visiting Quinnipiac on Tuesday night in the opening game for both teams.
Maryland senior Eric Ayala hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the second half on his way to 13 points and eight rebounds. Early in the game, Ayala received an ovation when he topped the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Donta Scott added 13 points and five rebounds, while Rhode Island transfer Fatts Russell contributed 12 points and four assists for the Terps, who led by as many as 25 points in the second half before the Bobcats rallied to make the final score respectable.
Wahab, a 6-11 transfer from nearby Georgetown, scored nine points in the first 4:13 of the second half to keep Maryland in command.
Playing a few miles from his hometown of Silver Spring, Md., Matt Balanc came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points to go along with his five steals for Quinnipiac. Tyrese Williams added 19 points, including hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers.
Maryland took control in the first half with a 30-10 spree. In his college debut, 6-9 Julian Reese (11 points, seven rebounds) came off the bench and sparked the run with seven points and two blocks in a span of 2:55. Utah transfer Ian Martinez (eight points) closed the sprint by feeding Scott for a jumper, then making a steal and passing to Scott for a transition slam-dunk and a 35-15 lead.
Defense played a big role for the Terps as they held Quinnipiac’s two big guns, fifth-year seniors Jacob Rigoni (seven points) and Kevin Marfo (two points) to a combined 3-of-17 shooting performance.
–Field Level Media
