Feature photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.
Princeton hadn’t run the three-two zone defensive scheme all season. When they employed it Saturday night in Baltimore, the Terps were caught off guard.
“We weren’t prepared for the three-two zone at all,” head coach Mark Turgeon said. “It showed a little bit.”
But the Terps made in-game adjustments and defeated the Tigers 82-61 as five players scored in double figures.
Forward Jake Layman led the team with a season-high 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting and four threes.
Guard Jaylen Brantley posted a career-high with 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting. Forward Robert Carter Jr. scored 12 points, while guard Rasheed Sulaimon and center Diamond Stone each had 11. Point guard Melo Trimble also contributed, dishing out 10 assists and scoring 7 points.
The Tigers’ game plan enabled them to hang with the Terps early. Princeton held a 25-19 lead with 6:36 to go in the first half, their largest advantage of the game. Forward Henry Caruso led Princeton with 11 points, forcing Turgeon’s hand into calling a timeout.
“We couldn’t guard them,” Turgeon said. “So we went small and we started pressing a little bit and we got a couple steals.”
Turgeon’s strategy out of the timeout worked.
Exactly two minutes after the timeout, down 27-24, the Terps jumpstarted an 11-0 and eventual 16-2 run, as guard Jared Nickens nailed a three on the right corner to tie the game. Trimble scored his first five points of the game, hitting a three and converting on a floater.
The series of eight consecutive points for the Terps prompted Princeton to call for a timeout, and brought the Terps faithful to their feet.
Out of the timeout, the Terps employed the full court press. Trimble intercepted a pass in the backcourt, drove inside the lane and dished it to Layman on the right wing. Layman converted from downtown to give Maryland a 35-27 lead with 3:10 to go in the half.
Maryland led 35-31 at halftime.
The Terps came out of the break shooting well. They made their first three shots and eight of their first 10. After scoring only four points in the first half, Carter scored eight in the second, all of which came in the first 4:28 of the half.
Maryland improved defensively in the latter part of the game as well. After giving up 11 points on 4 of 5 field-goal shooting and 3 of 3 from downtown to Caruso. The Terps held him to six points on 2 of 4 shooting and only one triple in the second half.
Brantley helped the Terps close out the game. After scoring 11 points in 10 games this season, he posted 14 Saturday. All of his points came in the final 5:43 of the game.
“We know he can score,” Layman said. “Just waiting for it to come out in a game.”
While the Terps showcased a balanced offensive attack on Saturday, Turgeon was impressed with how they played as a team, and it ultimately led to their win.
“Our guys aren’t selfish, they didn’t force things and that’s really what it’s about,” Turgeon said. “They’re playing together and they rely on each other and I thought defensively in the second half they really relied on each other.”
- Associate Head Coach Adam Hughes named Maryland Volleyball head coach - January 23, 2018
- Terps land three-star tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo - August 18, 2017
- Israeli Basketball Player Elevates Sports Over Politics - July 4, 2017
