Sean Mosley marched off the Comcast Center court in the middle of the first half, his three fouls certain to tie him to the bench the rest of the half.
There he joined Dino Gregory, who had two fouls and would not get the chance to pick a third before halftime on Sunday.
Eventually, both players would foul out, combining for a mere 33 minutes. It didn't matter, since the Terrapins were already well on their way to an 89-59 rout.
Except it did matter, in some small, incremental way, in the development of Gary Williams' latest outfit.
Six reserves logged at least 10 minutes. Maryland's bench outscored Maine 38-10, capping a seven-day stretch during which the Terps collected their first three victories of the season.
The search for answers about Maryland is roughly as far along as it was a week ago. Freshmen guards Pe'Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin are safely nestled in the Terps' rotation. Jordan Williams is a double-double machine. Cliff Tucker has settled in well as a perimeter option after serving as a complementary piece for his first three years.
The first part was a necessity regardless of whether the newcomers were ready or not. The second part was assumed based on Williams' strong play a year ago. The third part was suspected considering Tucker's athleticism and occasional strong outings.
But are there more sweeping conclusions to draw?
"No, no," guard Adrian Bowie said. "It's still too early. It's still way too early. We have a great team. I'd say you can draw some conclusions after the tournament this week. But still after that, we can always get better."
Ah, yes, the omnipresent early-season tournament that seems like a decent bellwether for what is to come. Maryland ventures into Madison Square Garden late this week, with a Thursday date with Pittsburgh a far truer test than anything the Terps dealt with in College Park. Illinois or Texas waits on the second day of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic championship round.
To be certain, Maryland isn't placing much stock in its 3-0 start. The Terps are grateful to be unbeaten --- and after a scare from College of Charleston on Wednesday, they should be.
It remains a fluid situation. Stoglin's reached double figures in two games, Howard in one. The frontcourt rotation is in its formative stages, with everything beyond Williams and Gregory still in flux.
It could be argued the one thread tying together Maryland's first three games is the need to pay attention to substitution patterns. It's anyone's guess what Gary Williams will come up with, and even he probably didn't expect to see some of the combinations the Terps trotted out.
(Seriously, could anyone have guessed Bowie, Tucker, Mychal Parker, James Padgett and Berend Weijs would share the floor in the first half of any game this season? That's a fairly random collection of players).
"You can tell our bench is young," Jordan Williams said. "We make a lot of mistakes that aren't necessarily made [normally]. I'm not used to seeing them because we had a veteran team last year, but I think we've matured a lot these past three games. We've been through a lot."
They did not, however, go through much against the Black Bears (1-1).
Maryland slogged through the first 13 minutes, never trailing yet also not finishing off Maine when handed an early opportunity. No matter. A 17-1 run --- even with Mosley and Gregory planted on the sideline --- took care of that problem.
The second half was merely a necessity. But in navigating those 20 minutes, the Terps received decent work from Parker, Haukur Palsson and others.
Conclusions? They're tough to come by. Possibilities? They're popping up every day.
"We've only played three games," Tucker said. "We've got a lot of young guys. Coach is still working on his rotation and throwing guys in there and seeing what they can do. But for the most part, I think we've done a great job these last few games."
There was little to quibble with on Sunday. A slow start at the foul line eventually turned into a 23-for-26 finish. The Terps held a 20-rebound edge. They forced 14 of Maine's 17 turnovers in the first half.
The worst that came of it was Gregory stumbled into foul trouble and Mosley paired his foul woes with a second straight lethargic performance. The pair also represents (along with Jordan Williams) perhaps the most understood commodities on the roster.
The unknowns are still plentiful, with the Terps' direction still up in the air. Three victories in College Park haven't changed much, even if there were a few slivers of certainty along the way.
"I think we certainly got a wake-up call against Charleston, both offensively and defensively about the need to play a certain way," Gary Williams said. "We talked about it the last couple days in practice and worked on some things and played better today. We'll see. I think every team is hoping they're playing at a pretty good level right now. The hope is nice, but when we get out there Thursday night we'll see where we are."
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