When Maryland takes on visiting Mount St. Mary’s Wednesday in College Park, Md., the Terrapins will be without their top threat Pharrel Payne.
The Texas A&M transfer, who is putting up team highs of 18.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, came away with a terrifying injury in Maryland’s 89-82 win Saturday at Marquette, which will likely keep him on the sidelines for an extended period.
After scoring on a driving two-fisted slam, Payne slipped as he returned to the floor, doing a straddle split and sustaining an apparent hip injury.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Maryland (3-1) had yet to reveal Payne’s status.
“I try to stay away from ever saying anything publicly regarding the health of any of our guys,” coach Buzz Williams said in a radio interview on Monday.
After watching their star leave the floor on a stretcher with 12:16 left against Marquette, the inspired Terrapins played with purpose. Payne’s dunk triggered a 32-13 run which transformed a seven-point deficit into a 12-point lead.
Maryland now will depend on Kansas transfer David Coit and Washington State transfer Isaiah Watts. On Saturday, the backcourt duo scored 19 and 18 points respectively, combining to hit 7 of 11 attempts from 3-point range.
The Terrapins also hope for the return of Myles Rice, who has been limited because of an ankle injury. In his lone appearance this season, the Indiana transfer had 19 points and seven rebounds in a loss to Georgetown.
Mount St. Mary’s (1-3), which advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, are expected to be a challenge for Maryland.
The Mountaineers of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference have been competitive in losses at power conference schools West Virginia and Cincinnati, falling by 16 and 17 points respectively.
With the top five scorers from last year’s team gone, Santa Clara transfer Luke McEldon and Western Illinois transfer Trey Deveaux have helped fill the void. Both are averaging 11 points per game.
“With a team with so many new pieces, there’s a lot of learning how to win,” Mount St. Mary’s coach Donny Lind said.
The top returning player is Xavier Lipscomb (10.8 points per game), who paces the Mountaineers in rebounds (6.3), assists (4.3) and steals (1.3).
