Terps stave off South Dakota State late, advance to second round

Posted By on March 18, 2016

Feature photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

The clock was trickling towards zero. Moments after splitting two shots at the free throw line to give his team a 3-point lead, Maryland guard Jaylen Brantley closely defended South Dakota State Jackrabbits guard Keaton Moffitt at the top of the 3-point line.

Looking for a teammate, Moffitt passed the ball. But guard Rasheed Sulaimon was there to snatch up the pass. With emotion and the feeling of impending victory, Sulaimon dashed down the court, rose through the air and slammed the ball down to seal the Terps victory.

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For the second consecutive year, the Terps survived their lower seeded opponent in the first round, defeating the No. 12 seed Jackrabbits 79-74 in Spokane, Washington on Friday.

Forward Jake Layman led the way offensively for the Terrapins. He tied his career high offensive output with 27 points. He made 7-of-11 field goals, 5-of-8 shots from three and 8-of-8 shots at the free-throw line. Layman scored 17 of his points in the second half.

 

Guard Jared Nickens also had one of his best games of the season, one that nearly mirrored his performance in the first round of the tournament last season against No. 13 seed Valparaiso. He scored 14 points, hitting 4-of-8 shots from downtown.

Three of Nickens’ triples came in a three-minute stretch early in the second half.

At the half, the Terps held a 10-point lead, 34-24. After four early points from SDSU to start the second half, Maryland went on a 19-7 run in the next five minutes. The run gave the Terps an 18-point lead, their largest of the day.

During the stretch, Maryland hit all six of the field goals that they attempted. Nickens made three triples, Layman sank two from downtown and center Diamond Stone converted a layup.  

The offensive spark came after a first half that was more of a defensive effort. The first 20 minutes of the game were also dominated by Layman and point guard Melo Trimble.

The Jackrabbits made 9-of-34 shots in the first half, a 26 percent clip. Maryland outrebounded SDSU 20-15 and shot 50 percent from the field, converting 11-of-22 attempts.

Trimble scored 15 points before the break on 4-of-7 shooting. He made 7-of-7 shots at the line. Jake Layman added 10 points in the early going, while forward Robert Carter Jr. grabbed nine boards in the first 20 minutes.

The Jackrabbits trio of leading scorers, forward Mike Daum and guards Deondre Parks and George Marshall, averaged a combined 44.8 points per game this season. Against Maryland, the threesome scored 53 points, making 16-of-31 shots from the field. The rest of the team, six players, provided 21 points on 8-of-28 field goal shooting.

But the Jackrabbits would make things interesting late in the game.

Both teams found themselves in foul trouble late in the game. Trimble committed his fifth foul as he hacked Marshall when the Jackrabbit point guard attempted a three. At the time of Trimble’s ejection, the Terps led 72-67 with 1:03 minutes remaining.

Marshall made all three shots at the line, but on the ensuing possession, fouled Layman. It was Marshall’s fifth personal. Layman made both free throws to give the Terps a 74-70 lead.

After a string of free throws, one from Jackrabbits guard Tevin King and two more by Layman, South Dakota State found itself down 76-71. With 13 seconds remaining, Parks did what Marshall did moments earlier; draw a foul on a three point shot. But this time, the foul was on Sulaimon.

Parks made all three shots at the charity stripe. Brantley then split his free throws, bringing up the chance for Sulaimon to avenge his prior mistake and the Terps to win.

In the week leading up to the game, the Terps mentioned combining potent offense with sound defense. In their 97-86 win over Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament, the Terps exploded from 3-point range, making 13-of-22 shots from downtown. Against Michigan State in the semifinals, the Terps lost 64-61, but had some good defensive stretches.

The Terrapins weren’t perfect against the Jackrabbits, but they showed flashes of offensive and defensive superiority. This was emulated in the waning seconds of the game as Sulaimon stole the ball and dunked Maryland to victory.

Next up: The team will get a shot at the Sweet Sixteen on Sunday against No. 13 seed Hawaii. Time and TV information is TBD.

Alex Flum
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Posted by Alex Flum

Alex, a sophomore broadcast journalism major, joined The Left Bench in 2015 and will cover the Maryland Men's Basketball team this year. He is a native of the DC Area and a long-suffering DC Sports fan (especially Wizards and Redskins).