Terps cruise past Charleston Southern 89-51 Friday night

Landon Milbourne scored 16 points to lead seven players with at least nine points as the Terrapin basketball team won their 33rd straight home-opener, besting Charleston Southern on Friday night, 89-51.

Sean Mosley had 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and freshman Jordan Williams added 12 points and nine rebounds as the Terps pulled away in the second half for their biggest opening-night win since 1998.

Coach Gary Williams acknowledged that his freshman got the start "out of necessity" with Dino Gregory, who was not even on the Terp bench for the game, still suspended due to an unspecified violation of team rules. But Williams made the most of starting his first real game at Comcast Center. He scored six of the team's first 10 points and provided toughness for the Terps in the post. Fellow freshman forward James Padgett, who started the Terps' exhibition win, added 10 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.

The Terps, boosted by an anxious home crowd, never trailed. Milbourne's jumper with 6:59 left in the first half gave the Terps a 27-13 lead, but the Terps couldn't distance themselves in the first half. Still, the Buccaneers, who got 14 from guard Jamarco Warren, didn't cut their deficit to less than eight.

Out of the halftime break, the Terps picked up the intensity to put the game away quickly. Milbourne opened the half with a jumper. Guard Eric Hayes stroked a three and Vasquez followed that with a steal and nifty behind the back pass to Mosley for a finger-roll and a 19-point lead. The Terps outscored the Buccaneers 24-10 during the first 8:30 of the second half to put the game out of reach.

The Terps (1-0) continued to build the lead for much of the second half, often making the extra pass to lead to some quick baskets. That included star guard Greivis Vasquez, who struggled shooting but still finished nine points, 13 assists, five rebounds and four steals. Showcasing a balanced scoring attack, the Terps made it look easy with several dunks in transition and nice finishes around the basket. They also hit six second half three-pointers, including three by Hayes.

Sean Mosley's three with 1:30 remaining extended the Terp lead to 35 and got reserves David Pearman and Ersin Levent their first game action of the season. In the last minute, Pearman added a finger roll in transition for the final margin.

Besides Gregory's absence, which hasn't been addressed since the team suspended him for the exhibition game last week, the Terps also had to overcome the loss of forward Jin Soo Choi, who sprained his right ankle. In the second half, Choi stayed down for several minutes after a scramble for a loose rebound. He was helped from the floor by Levent and Pearman. Choi headed for the locker room during the eight-minute media timeout and didn't return to the bench. Williams said he hopes to have Choi back for Tuesday's game against Fairfield.

But after the blowout win, most of the buzz around the team was positive.

"We did a good job of doing what we had to do," Williams said.

edetweiler@umdbk.com