Hakim Hart’s 33 points in first career start spark Maryland men’s basketball to 90-57 rout of Saint Peter’s
After a career-high performance for the Maryland men’s basketball team Friday afternoon, Hakim Hart knows where he would have been if Saturday afternoon’s game at James Madison had not been canceled: on the bench.
Despite scoring a career-high 33 points in the first start of his career to propel the Terps to a 90-57 throttling of visiting Saint Peter’s at the Xfinity Center, coach Mark Turgeon said Hart will return to the bench, and the 6-foot-6, 205-pound sophomore shooting guard did not have any objections.
“It is what it is,” said Hart, who added four steals and three rebounds. “We’ve got a lot of great players on this team.”
Hart will have to wait several days to see if he can repeat that effort. Saturday’s game against the Dukes was canceled around 6:45 p.m. after the team reported a positive test for the coronavirus and suspended all activities. Maryland was scheduled to leave by bus at 7 p.m. for Harrisonburg, Virginia
Now the Terps will wait until Wednesday when they meet Clemson at 5 p.m. as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Turgeon said Hart, who had entered the game with 45 points in his career, was granted the start because junior guard Aaron Wiggins had not practiced all week due to an elbow injury. Wiggins was not cleared by the team’s medical staff to play until Friday morning, but Turgeon said he elected to start Hart.
“I knew he could make shots,” he said. “I didn’t realize he had 33. I thought he was around 23, and I know he got on a spurt there at the end. … Aaron did a little shooting in a little dry run yesterday, but we could see that Aaron was a little bit rusty. I know Hakim had 33 today, but he’ll be back to the bench tomorrow, coming off the bench. But he’s gained a lot of confidence from this coaching staff and from his teammates.”
Asked if he thought his display might warrant him another start, Hart replied simply, “No, that’s fine.”
In the first half, Hart scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. He was even better in the second, canning all six of his field-goal attempts, including both shots behind the 3-point arc, and converting 6 of 7 free throws for 20 points.
Turgeon pointed out that Hart’s showing came on the heels of an exasperating practice session.
“Yesterday, he missed every shot in practice, and I said, ‘Keep shooting, keep shooting,’” Turgeon said. “We want him to hunt his shot because if he shoots like that and people are running at him, he can make plays for himself and others. He’s a terrific passer and has a great feel for the game. We want him to look for his shots. Yesterday, he missed two in practice and passed one up, and I didn’t like it. I got on him. He got going today, but you can’t be one of those guys that misses your first two shots and thinks you’re going to miss your third. If you miss your first four, you [have got to] think you’re going to make your fifth. That’s the way his approach to the game has got to be. So it was great to see.”
Hart’s outing was part of an overall strong offensive effort by the Terps (4-0), who have scored at least 80 points in each of their first four games for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
The offense shot 65.0% from the floor in the first half, including 44.4% from behind the 3-point arc, racing to a 42-23 advantage at halftime.
Maryland’s strong start has become something of a habit this fall. In an 82-52 rout of Navy on Nov. 27, the team shot 60% (12-of-20) in the first half en route to a 32-25 lead at halftime. Then in a 79-61 victory over Mount St. Mary’s two days later, it converted 61.5% (16-of-26) of its field-goal attempts to take a 41-32 lead at the break.
“I thought offensively, we were really good except for the turnovers,” Turgeon said, referring to 16 giveaways. “In the second half, we were better with the turnovers. We just weren’t as good offensively, and it was between the ears more than anything. So for three and a half games, we shot the cover off of it. The second half was the first time we missed free throws, missed shots. Still shot 1/8 43.3 percent for the second half], but it was kind of a different feeling. We have executed at a high level. The guys share the ball, and I like the style we’re playing.”
Junior forward Jairus Hamilton finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore forward Donta Scott had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the team’s first double double of the season.
With the Terps enjoying a 42-23 advantage at halftime — their largest at the intermission of the season — Hart and Hamilton scored the team’s first 12 points of the second half with Hamilton getting eight points on a pair of three-pointers and two free throws and Hart scoring the rest on a layup and two free throws.
Scott scored nine points in the second half, having a hand in three consecutive field goals with a dunk that ended a streak of 12 straight misses from the floor, an assist on a layup by Hamilton, and a jumper.
“They passed me the ball a little bit more, and I got a couple more rebounds,” said Scott, who also set a career high with four assists. “They just kind of picked me up a little bit. But I’m always going to pick it up on defense. That’s always my thing.”
Things did not go quite as well for the Peacocks (2-2), who were hoping to extend their winning streak to three games but instead remain winless in their history against Maryland. And with 13:19 left in the second half, they lost junior forward KC Ndefo, who had been the team’s leading scorer with nine points and had three rebounds and three steals, after he fouled out on a personal foul and then a technical foul for apparently saying something to an official.
Sophomore shooting guard Daryll Banks III paced Saint Peter’s with a team-best 11 points, while sophomore forward Fousseyni Drame chipped in nine points and six rebounds.
MARYLAND@CLEMSON
Wednesday, 5 p.m.
TV: ESPN2 Radio: 105.7 FM
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