Maryland men’s basketball improved to 11-2 Saturday with a 81-66 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore at Xfinity Center.

The Terps struggled at times, but found their way in the final 10 minutes, expanding a seven-point lead to a 23-point one, which they rode to victory.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Maryland ended nonconference play with a win

After 11 games, the Terps are now finished with nonconference play for the regular season — finishing the slate with a 10-1 record — and ended it in convincing fashion.

Maryland started slow, but finished strong. It led by just a point nearly 10 minutes into the first half, but entered halftime with a 16-point lead and never trailed.

The Terps were particularly dominant in the paint. They out-rebounded the Hawks, 37-32, and scored 46 points in the paint compared to Maryland-Eastern Shore’s 36. They also forced 14 turnovers.

Dominance over nonconference opponents has been common for Maryland this season. Against mid- and low-major opponents, the Terps are 8-0, winning by an average of 37.1 points per game.

Against fellow high-major opponents, Maryland has still performed well. It won two of three games, with the most significant being a 27-point victory over Syracuse a week ago.

With buy games and expected wins in the Terps’ rearview mirror, they will now have to prove they can compete with Big Ten competition on a nightly basis, starting on Thursday against Washington.

Julian Reese had a day

Reese has been a mismatch this season against mid- and low-major opponents, who don’t have forwards with the size or skill to stop him in the paint. He posted double-doubles in six of eight games against lower-major opponents, and nearly did so in the first half Saturday, tallying 13 points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes.

Feeding Reese in the paint was a clear focal point of the Terps’ game plan. Early in the first half, he was involved in multiple pick-and-rolls in which he received a bounce pass from the ball handler that led to an open push shot in the middle of the paint. He scored seven of Maryland’s first 11 points.

Reese was also given the opportunity to create his own shots. Late in the first half, Reese received the ball on the block, muscled through two defenders and then laid the ball in for an and-one.

He finished the game with 23 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and two assists, while shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 7-of-12 from the free-throw line. He was also plus-29 when on the court, which led the team.

Reese has struggled this season against ranked opponents, averaging just 3.5 points, but will have an opportunity to redeem himself and prove his worth among the nation’s best in a week against No. 9 Oregon.

Neither team knocked down 3-pointers

Maryland entered the game shooting 37.1% from 3-point range, its best mark since 2017-18. But the Terps were far from good from deep Saturday, going 5 for 18 (27.8%).

Selton Miguel spearheaded Maryland’s shooting struggles with a 1-of-7 performance from distance, while Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice combined for 2-of-7 shooting. These struggles were particularly surprising for Miguel, who was Maryland’s leading scorer in the prior two games. Against Saint Francis (PA) and Syracuse, Miguel averaged 24 points and three assists per game, while shooting 75% from the field and 66.7% from 3-point range.

The Terps received some 3-point production from unlikely sources, though, as Jordan Geronimo and DeShawn Harris-Smith knocked down deep shots. They each shot below 21% from beyond the arc last season.

Luckily for Maryland, Maryland-Eastern Shore was even worse, shooting 4-of-16 (25%) from beyond the arc. Graduate Evan Johnson and junior Cardell Bailey were the only Hawks to make a 3-pointer.

Back in September we let you know that L&L Hawaiian Barbecue will open its first Maryland location right here in Montgomery County at 785 Rockville Pike, Suite G, in the Ritchie Center (Rockville). The restaurant is now in its soft opening phase with a ‘first look’ video below.

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue has taken over the space formerly occupied by Superbowl Noodle House, which permanently closed in March. According to L&L Rockville, soft opening hours on Saturday, December 28th will be 11am-9pm with a limited menu and staff training. Hours after that will also be 11am-9pm daily.Follow @LLhawaiianBBQrockville on Instagram for additional information.

L&L’s menu features “Hawaiian comfort food” and offers a mix of Asian and American fusion dishes such as BBQ Beef Bowls, Cheeseburgers, Chicken Katsu, Loco Moco (hamburger patties over rice with brown gravy and fried eggs), and Spam Musubi.

Per the restaurant, “With over 200 locations nationwide, including 70 in Hawaii, the closest L&L locations to Maryland are in Virginia– Annandale, Chesapeake, and Suffolk. According to its website, “In the early years, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue was a successful chain of drive-in restaurants with a reputation for serving fresh plate lunches throughout the Hawaiian islands.

In late 1999, our founders – Johnson Kam and Eddie Flores, Jr. – introduced their signature, Asian and American fusion take on the classic plate lunch to the residents of California. Since then, the concept has found fans around the world and there are over 200 L&L Hawaiian Barbecue restaurants in Hawaii, California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Texas, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Japan. Needless to say, in addition to the fresh, culturally-commingling flavors of Hawaii, every L&L meal is infused with the warmth of aloha – the legendary spirit of welcome that makes every guest feel at home.”

A man has been charged after two incidents at churches in Maryland, including pouring whiskey in holy water and throwing tangerines at parishioners, police said.

St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said in the first incident, suspect Thomas Von Goetz, 56, entered d Holy Angels Catholic Church after 5 p.m. on December 24, approached the altar and dropped an onion.

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A person followed Von Goetz out of the church and police said Von Goetz threw tangerines at the person.

Later that night at Midnight Mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Leonardtown, police said Von Goetz disrupted the service by pouring whiskey into the holy water and threatening the parishioners.

As he was being escorted out, police said Von Goetz attempted to hit people with a whiskey bottle.

Von Goetz was arrested and transported to a hospital for a medical evaluation. Police said he was charged with second degree assault, disorderly conduct, defacing religious property, religions crime against a group, obstructing a religious exercise, threat of mass violence and disturbing the peace.