Layman scores 19 as No. 6 Maryland beats Princeton 82-61
BALTIMORE (AP) For 20 minutes, Maryland was locked in a tight game with Princeton.
After halftime, the Terrapins looked every bit like the No. 6 team in the nation.
Jake Layman scored a season-high 19 points and Robert Carter fueled a second-half surge that enabled Maryland to pull away to an 82-61 victory Saturday night.
The Terrapins used an 18-8 run to increase a four-point halftime edge to a 53-39 lead. Carter went 4 for 4 with a steal during the key stretch, and Layman chipped in with a 3-pointer and an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Rasheed Sulaimon.
After Princeton closed to 58-49, Layman and freshman Diamond Stone scored before sophomore Jaylen Brantley drilled a 3-pointer for a 16-point cushion.
''The second half, we were about as good as we can be,'' coach Mark Turgeon said.
The Terrapins (10-1) went 19 for 29 from the floor, buried six of their 11 attempts from beyond the arc and outscored the Tigers 47-30.
''That's a really good team,'' Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said. ''They showed how much better they were than us in the second half.''
Brantley scored a career-high 14 for Maryland. Carter had 12 points, and Stone and Sulaimon each scored 11. Melo Trimble contributed seven points and 10 assists.
''The thing that was most important was that our guys were unselfish,'' Turgeon said. ''They were playing together and relying on each other.''
Layman went 7 for 11 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds. In his previous two games, he scored a combined 15 points.
''That's what's special about this team: On any given night, someone can come up big for us,'' Layman said. ''Tonight, I guess it was my night.''
Henry Caruso led the Tigers (6-3) with 17 points. Princeton held the lead for much of the first half but couldn't compete with the taller Terrapins, who finished with nine offensive rebounds and a 38-25 advantage on the boards.
A near-sellout crowd of 11,076 showed up for Maryland's first game in Baltimore since 1999. The Terps are 10-2 in Charm City, including 2-0 against Princeton.
''What a great night in Baltimore,'' Turgeon said. ''The city really embraced us.''
Opening with a 3-2 zone defense that caught Maryland off guard, Princeton built a 25-19 lead.
''We weren't really ready for it,'' Stone said.
Caruso accounted for Princeton's first eight points and the Tigers went 4 for 5 from beyond the arc to take an early 14-11 lead.
Stone made two dunks and a baseline jumper to pull Maryland into a tie at 19 before Steven Cook and Caruso hit successive 3s for the Tigers.
The Terrapins fought back behind Trimble and Layman, who each scored five points in a 16-2 run that made it 35-31 at halftime.
Princeton made only two baskets over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the half.
''I think we played pretty well in the first half,'' Tigers guard Amir Bell said. ''In the second half, they went on a run and we didn't respond well.''
TIP-INS
Princeton: The Tigers have dropped five straight in the series that began in the 1924-25 season. Maryland leads 6-3. ... Princeton's previous two defeats this season came against Stony Brook and Saint Joseph's. ... This was the first game the Tigers lost when shooting at least 40 percent from the floor. They went 21 for 52 (40.4 percent). Princeton was 6-0 when connecting on 40 percent of its shots.
Maryland: The Terrapins are the only team in the Big Ten with five players averaging in double figures in points. ... Layman failed to reach double digits in five of six starts before this one. ... Brantley scored only 11 points in his first 10 games this season.
OFF THE BENCH
Princeton: The Tigers got 16 points from their bench, six by Devin Cannady and five apiece from Alex Brennan and Myles Stephens.
Maryland: Stone came off the bench for the fifth time in 11 games. Although Stone was a five-star recruit, the 6-foot-11 center is OK being a reserve.
''I'm just bringing energy,'' Stone said. ''It gives us a spark off the bench. That's what I am. I don't mind it. I kind of like it.''
UP NEXT
Princeton hosts Bucknell on Tuesday.
Maryland faces visiting Marshall on Dec. 27.
