The 6th-ranked Maryland Terrapins shook off a slow start by finishing strong and taming the Princeton Tigers, 82-61 in Baltimore at the Royal Farms Arena.
The Terps, coming off of a week long break, started a bit sluggish before the in-state crowd and could only manage a 35-31 lead at halftime.
But in the second half the Terrapins came out of their shells and outscored Princeton 47-30.
A layup by Robert Carter Jr. gave Maryland a 48-38 lead with 15:32 to go and the rout was on. The lead ballooned to 68-49 on a Rasheed Sulaimon three-pointer, which was part of a 20-11 run with 8:04 to play in the game.
In the second half the Terps were able to rest star guard Melo Trimble because freshman guard Jalen Brantley provided a spark off the bench during the Terps second half surge. He finished his breakout game with a career-high 14 points and it was his drive and score that gave Maryland its largest lead of the game at 80-54 with 2:45 to go. From there Maryland was able to empty the bench on its way to a (10-1) record.
The Tigers showed some teeth in the first half and built a 25-19 lead on the strength of their long distance shooting. They ended the half going 7 for 14 on three-pointers.
The Terps were led in the game and the first half by senior Jake Layman who finished with a game high 19 points, 12 scored in the first half. He also led the team with eight rebounds.
Maryland won the rebounding battle 38 to 25 and outscored the Tigers 32 to 18 in the paint. Their bench scoring also topped the Tigers 31 to 16.
Meanwhile, the Tigers were held to 41 percent shooting from the floor but stayed in the game by hitting 11 of 24 shots from long distance.
The Terrapins shared the ball and finished with 20 assists, 10 by Trimble who scored seven points, had three steals and two blocked shots.
Five Terrapins finished in double figures. Joining Layman and Brantley were Carter who scored 12 points, snagged four rebounds, had two blocks and one steal. Sulaimon chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Freshman sensation Diamond Stone matched Sulaimon in points and rebounds and had one of the seven Terrapin blocked shots.
Henry Caruso led Princeton in scoring with 17 points. Amir Bell chipped in with nine points and five rebounds. Steven Cook led the team in rebounds with six and scored six points in a losing effort for the (6-3) Tigers.
