Feature photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.
Before the season even started, Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon was preaching becoming a complete team to his players. The biggest step was working on the defensive side of things.
On Wednesday, the Terps defense made more strides as they held Rutgers to 38.6 percent field goal shooting for the game, and 24 percent in the first half.
The No. 3 Terps easily defeated Rutgers 88-63 with strong defensive play and a balanced scoring attack, outrebounding the Scarlet Knights 49-27.
“We were really really good,” Turgeon said. “We were locked in, we guarded the ball well, we played shots and rebounded.”
The Terps’ rebound total was a season-high. It was 12 more than their second most, which they recorded in the season opening victory over Mt. Saint Mary’s.
On Wednesday night, the Terps rebounded efficiently; they had 31 defensive rebounds to show for Rutgers’ 35 missed shots.
“We have so much size,” guard Varun Ram said. “Other than that we have tough players, guys that are going to box out, and when they’re taking long shots, a lot of the times when they miss it’s going to be long rebounds.”
Center Diamond Stone and guard Jared Nickens tied to lead the team with 10 rebounds and Nickens posted a new career high. For Stone, it was his second career double, as he recorded 15 points.
“We just keep talking to our players about becoming more complete,” Turgeon said. “You work individually with them and if they can get better, then your team gets better… Jared doing what he did tonight really helps.”
Offensively, it was forward Jake Layman who paced the Terps with 18 points on 5-10 shooting and 3-5 from three.
Layman also recorded two blocks and looked solid defensively. Ram reflected on Layman’s transformation into more of a complete player.
“When [Jake] first came in, he really struggled to guard,” Ram said. “Just to see how far he’s come, it’s been awesome. We talk about it all the time.”
But it was defense that helped the Terps stunt the Scarlet Knights’ chances early.
Maryland enjoyed a 30-6 run over 12 minutes and 35 seconds in the first half and a 15-0 run to close out the final four minutes and 31 seconds of the game.
Entering their tilt with Rutgers Wednesday, through 14 games, the No. 3 Maryland Terrapins had trailed at halftime three times, been tied once. They’d led by double digits six times and by 20 or more points twice.
At halftime, the Terps led Rutgers by 28 points, their largest lead at any half this season. It was nearly four times the team’s season average halftime lead of 7.4 points.
The blowout gave the team a chance to practice their zone defense in game play. Turgeon said the team played 10 minutes of zone, more than they’ve played the whole year combined.
After playing 14 minutes in the first half, point guard Melo Trimble spent the second half on the bench.
The sophomore sat out with tightness in his hamstring. After the game, Turgeon said he should be “fine.”
Even with Trimble riding the bench, the Terps managed to close out the game strongly and take more steps towards becoming a complete team.
“We were getting into a really good rhythm,” guard Rasheed Sulaimon said. “We have a lot of trust we are starting to gain with one other. Each one of us is getting better.”
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