Pharrel Payne powered inside for 30 points as Maryland pulled away in the second half for an 89-63 victory over Wagner on Tuesday night in College Park, Md.
Myles Rice contributed 16 points and five steals for the Terrapins (6-3), who rebounded from back-to-back blowout losses to ranked teams last week in the Players Era tournament.
Darius Adams added 12 points and six rebounds, while Elijah Saunders provided a trio of 3-pointers for Maryland.
Solomon Washington, who came with new Terrapins coach Buzz Williams from Texas A&M, made his first appearance for Maryland after missing eight games with an ankle injury.
In a starting role, Washington contributed 10 points and six rebounds, helping Maryland to a 48-37 edge on the boards.
Payne, also a transfer from Texas A&M, contributed 10 rebounds and three blocks, both of which were game highs. His work inside helped Maryland to a 40-22 advantage on points in the paint.
Nick Jones scored 16 points to pace Wagner (1-6). The Northeast Conference school got 13 points and seven rebounds from Jaden Baker and 10 points from Sam Smith.
On a night when the Terrapins shot just 40.6% overall and made 5 of 20 attempts (25%) from 3-point range, they survived with their defense.
The Terrapins forced 18 turnovers and limited the Seahawks to 36.8% shooting from the floor and 6-of-23 (26.1%) success from beyond the arc.
Maryland struggled through two dry spells in the first half, missing eight straight shots in the opening minutes and 10 in a row later in the period.
After trailing late in the half, the Terrapins closed with a 10-2 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Adams, which put them up 33-28 at the break.
Maryland continued to thrive early in the second half. A fastbreak slam by Payne hiked the Terrapins’ lead to double digits for the first time with 15:29 left.
Payne added a three-point play, another dunk and a block during a 10-2 run, which also included five points by Adams as Maryland put it further out of reach at 52-35.
In the final six minutes, Washington threw down a pair of emphatic slam dunks, celebrating his long-awaited presence in the lineup.
–Field Level Media
