Layman leads No. 3 Maryland past Mount St. Mary's 80-56
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) Maryland coach Mark Turgeon loves the potential of his deep and talented lineup.
Jake Layman scored 16 points, Melo Trimble had 14 and the third-ranked Terrapins beat Mount St. Mary's 80-56 on Friday night in the season opener for each school.
''I was encouraged,'' Turgeon said. ''I'm really pleased with a lot of things. We continue to get better.''
Jared Nickens also scored 11 points for the Terrapins, who outrebounded the Mountaineers 44-20. Freshman Diamond Stone and Georgia Tech transfer Robert Carter each had 10 points.
Mount St. Mary's shot just 31 percent (19 of 61) from the floor. BK Ashe scored 11 of his 18 points in the first half, and Will Miller finished with 10 points.
Beginning a season full of high hopes, the Terrapins shook off a sluggish start and put on an exciting show for the sellout crowd with several dunks and clutch 3-pointers.
The pesky Mountaineers closed to 49-40 on Ashe's 3-pointer with 15:59 left, forcing Maryland to call timeout. The Terrapins responded with a dunk by Michal Cekovsky, a 3-pointer by Nickens and another jumper by Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon.
A 3-pointer by Layman and a layup for Trimble, the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, boosted the margin to 61-41 midway through the second half. Maryland was never threatened the rest of the way, and an alley-oop from Jaylen Brantley to Layman set off another raucous celebration.
''Tonight was big for the first game,'' Trimble said. ''The crowd was there. I thought we played really good. We all just played with excitement.''
The Mountaineers got just seven points from their reserves.
''I would never say we ran out of gas, but they did some things with their size and strength,'' coach Jamion Christian said. ''When you look at their team, you're looking at one of the teams that are one of the best in the country and they're going to have an opportunity to play for a national championship at the end of the year as they grow and play more together.''
Mount St. Mary's stayed right with Maryland early on. Charles Glover's 3-pointer got the Mountaineers within six with 1:15 left in the first half, but two free throws by Damonte Dodd and a 3-pointer by Layman helped the Terrapins to a 43-34 lead at the break.
''Having so many weapons is nice,'' Layman said. ''Coach preaches to us to share the ball. When we do that, we're successful. I think you saw that tonight.''
TIP-INS
Mount St. Mary's: Senior forward Gregory Graves and Ashe, a junior guard, were named to the preseason All-Northeast Conference team. Ashe created matchup problems for the Terrapins for much of the night. ... The Mountaineers are picked to finish first in their league after going 15-15 last season.
Maryland: A pair of transfers and a highly touted freshman wasted little time making an impact for the Terrapins. Robert Carter Jr. (Georgia Tech) and Sulaimon (Duke), along with Stone, a former McDonald's All-American, were in the starting lineup. ... The Terrapins lead the all-time series against Mount St. Mary's 8-0.
UP NEXT
Mount St. Mary's travels to Ohio State on Sunday.
Maryland hosts D.C. neighbor Georgetown on Tuesday.
SPREAD THE WEALTH
Maryland had five players score in double figures. With so much depth, Turgeon doesn't expect just one player to carry the load.
''That's the way it's set up to be,'' Turgeon said. ''We're hard to guard because we have so many guys who can do things. We had five guys in double figures. It means you're a good team if you can do that.''
RESTING TRIMBLE
Trimble routinely played 30 minutes or more last season. Against Mount St. Mary's, he played 25 minutes.
''I'm expecting that early in the season,'' Trimble said. ''We have so much depth, I think we can still do good even if I'm not in the game for 40 minutes.''
