David Coit delivered one of the top scoring efforts in Maryland history in just his fifth game with the program.
The senior guard will look to follow the stellar performance when the Terrapins clash with UNLV on Monday night in their initial game in the Players Era men’s tournament at Las Vegas.
Coit scored a career-high 41 points as Maryland (4-1) notched a 95-90 overtime victory over visiting Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday. It tied for the third-most points in program history with school legends Gene Shue (1953), Len Bias (1986) and Greivis Vasquez (2010).
The only Terps with higher scoring outputs are Ernest Graham (44 in 1978) and Al Bunge (43 in 1960).
Coit made 8 of 10 attempts from 3-point range, falling one shy of matching the school mark of Mike Jones, who made nine on Dec. 13, 2006, against Kansas City.
“I think what was working was my teammates playing in position to score, spacing us, reading the game, making the right decisions,” Coit said. “I think it just flowed into scoring.”
Coit’s exploits including a tying 3-pointer late in regulation that prevented Maryland from being upset by the Mountaineers. Coit is quickly fitting in with the Terrapins after playing two seasons at Northern Illinois and last season at Kansas before transferring to Maryland.
“Every night it’s going to be somebody else scoring and making a play,” Coit said. “So I just try my best to make the right play. I did that for most of the time.”
Maryland will face No. 13 Gonzaga on Tuesday before playing a third game in the tournament on either Wednesday or Thursday.
UNLV (3-2) will face No. 11 Alabama on Tuesday before learning who its third opponent will be.
The Rebels have won two straight games, including 99-85 at home over Saint Joseph’s on Thursday. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn led the way with 20 points and averages 16.2 points per game.
“That was a good win for the Rebels, UNLV coach Josh Pastner said. “… We had to scrap, claw, kick, fight, just had to find a way. And we’ve gotten better since where we initially started at the beginning of the year.”
UNLV posted a 92-78 road victory over Memphis before the win against St. Joe’s. The Rebels lost two of their first three games this season.
