Andre Mills delivered 22 points and 11 rebounds to propel Maryland to a 96-67 victory over Bucknell in the season opener for both teams Monday night in College Park, Md.
Freshman Kaden House scored 14 points in his college debut, and Pharrel Payne contributed 13 points and six rebounds as the Terrapins won their opening game for the 13th straight year.
Aleksander Pachucki scored 23 points and Rocco Lamuno added 12 for the Bison, who are winless in 10 games all-time against the Terps.
With Pachucki hitting four 3-pointers in the first half, Bucknell hung tough for the first 13 minutes, leading 25-23 before Maryland took control with its superior size and depth.
The Terps outrebounded the Bison 54-22 and had a big edge in second-chance points, 28-4. Maryland also had 54 points in the paint, compared with 18 for Bucknell.
The key stretch for the Terps came in the final seven minutes of the first half, when they outscored the Bison 21-5.
Mike McNair Jr., a transfer from Boston University, started the Maryland run with his second 3-pointer of the first half. Then in the final three minutes of the half, Mills and two other transfers, Bishop Boswell (Tennessee) and Robert Jennings II (Oklahoma State), drilled triples as Maryland stretched its lead at the break to 44-30.
In the second half for the Terps, Arkansas transfer DJ Wagner (10 points, five rebounds for the game) triggered a burst with a driving layup and followed with a steal that led to a fast-break dunk.
Maryland took a 61-37 lead with 12:50 left.
New Mexico transfer Tomislav Buljan contributed to Maryland’s domination of the paint, delivering 10 points and seven rebounds.
Bucknell made 43.4% of its shots from the floor, including 12 of 31 (38.7%) from 3-point range. Maryland hit 47.2% of its shots, including 7 of 28 (25%) from deep.
