2025 Hall of Fame Classic Recap
- Adam Mack
- a few seconds ago
- 2 min read
The 2025 college basketball season has begun with a double header of Maryland's best. In the opening game Maryland took on Coppin State, followed by a matchup between Towson and Loyola MD. This is the 2nd year of the Hall of Fame Classic in Baltimore Maryland and the 1st time the classic would feature 4 schools from Maryland.
Former Maryland Head Coach and 2014 Naismith Hall of Famer Gary Williams was honored at half time of the Maryland vs. Coppin State game. Williams led the Terps to 2 Final Fours and won the 2002 NCAA Championship.
Maryland defeats Coppin State 81-63.
It is officially the Buzz Williams era for Maryland basketball. The former Texas A&M head coach has taken over the program that appeared in the Sweet Sixteen just last year, and he has started his tenure off with a victory.
Coppin State took the early 2-0 lead, but they did not have the lead much longer. Maryland took advantage of Coppin State's mistakes and never turned back. Maryland forced 20 turnovers and scored 30 points off those turnovers. 10 players for Maryland saw game time, with 8 of the 10 players recording at least 1 steal, with 3 players with multiple steals.
Maryland has a brand new squad from last year's Sweet Sixten run. Texas A&M transfer Pharrel Payne was named game MVP after his 21 point 6 rebound performance. Payne scored 15 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in the 2nd half.
Even though Maryland dominated the turnover battle, it was Maryland's ability to get to the foul line and their 23/25 on free throws that was the key to tonight's victory. Freshman Darius Adams led the team with 10 free throws made on his way to his 16 point performance in his college debut.
Even though Coppin State trailed for a majority of the game, they opened the 2nd half on a 10-3 run that saw Maryland's lead decrease to single digits. One of two returners from last year is Khali Horton. He led the team in scoring with 19 points while going 5/6 from 3 point range.
Towson defeats Loyola 67-56
In the 2nd half of the double header, Towson took down Loyola in a back and forth game.
Reigning CAA Player of the Year Tyler Tejada picked up right where he left off and scored 24 for Towson. He shot 8-14 and 1-3 from 3 point range. With the two teams tied at half, Tejada used an 18 point 2nd half performance to help Towson pull ahead of Loyola.
With the game tied at half, it was all Towson in the 2nd half. They used an 13-0 run to take the lead mid-way through the 2nd half and never turned back. They managed to get the lead up to 18 points. Towson dominated the boards. They out rebounded Loyola 40-29. Caleb Embeya led the way with 6 rebounds.