Center Shaquille Cleare slams down a miss in the first half of the Terps’ 90-83 loss to Oregon State at Comcast Cneter on Nov. 17, 2013.

ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands — For the first several weeks of the Terrapins men’s basketball season, coach Mark Turgeon and his players insisted that center Shaquille Cleare was on the brink of a breakthrough. But through three games, Cleare averaged 2.3 points, two rebounds and two turnovers per game.

“He’s just got to loosen up a little bit and play his game,” forward Charles Mitchell said Tuesday. “When he goes back to playing the Shaquille Cleare game, he’s going to be a great player.”

Friday afternoon in the Virgin Islands, Cleare’s performance in a 68-43 win over Marist finally provided some support to teammates’ confidence. Cleare shot 4-of-4 from the field for eight points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists — all of which were season highs.

Cleare’s numbers certainly weren’t staggering, but he did look comfortable on the court for the first time this season.

“I just had to get over the hump,” Cleare said. “Coach said, ‘I know you’re frustrated you’re not scoring the way you’re capable of, but continue to work hard and things will start dropping.’ And that’s what happened tonight.”

Turgeon, who started Cleare in each game this season despite his struggles, said that Cleare was more confident Friday than he’s been all year.

“It was good to see Shaq finally play a good game,” Turgeon said. “And be a little bit of a force while he was in there.”

The 6-foot-9 center wasn’t able to compete in the Terps’ summer tour to his native Bahamas because of a back injury, and though he hasn’t missed time on the floor since preseason practice began, Cleare hinted that his setback may have impacted his early-season play.

The injury didn’t appear to hamper Cleare against the Red Foxes, as he consistently found opportunities to post up against the Marist defense and showed a burst when attacking the rim. Cleare mentioned that he has been 100 percent all season, but he’s now getting back into his “comfort zone.”

“It’s a process to get back,” Cleare said. “I hadn’t played in like six or seven months, so I’m getting back slowly. I’m having great practices, it’s just got to translate over to the game.”

Cleare’s effectiveness wasn’t limited to his physical tools Friday night. He was able to make quality decisions when Marist sent extra defenders at him in the post, and as a result, he tallied his first two assists of the season.

He also only turned the ball over once after committing three giveaways in each of the previous two games.

“When he got the ball in the post guys were doubling him and he was making great passes,” forward Jake Layman said. “He just had an all around great game and it should really help his confidence.”

Perhaps enhanced confidence will be the biggest benefit of Cleare’s solid outing against the Red Foxes. At the least, the Terps don’t have to revert to Cleare’s practice habits or potential when they compliment the big sophomore.

Now they can point to game film to support the claim that Cleare can be a force in the paint.

“He works hard all time,” Layman said. “Tonight he really showed it.”