National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Maryland 88, Rutgers 63
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Where: Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland
Officials: # Mike Eades, # Kelly Pfeifer, # Lamont Simpson
Attendance: 17950

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan joked earlier this week that Maryland point guard Melo Trimble and freshman center Diamond Stone should turn pro and make life easier for the Scarlet Knights next season.

But Jordan, returning to his home area on Wednesday night, learned that the third-ranked Terrapins have a lot more weapons than Trimble and Stone.

Trimble was bothered by a sore hamstring and did not play in the second half and Stone fell way short of the 39 points he scored in his previous home game, but Maryland led by 42 points in the second half and coasted to an 88-63 victory.

"They can be a Final Four team, they can be a national championship team," Jordan said of Maryland, which led by 28 points at halftime.

The Terps won the battle of the boards 49-27, had four starters score in double figures and had six players add points off the bench in the Big Ten clash.

Senior forward Jake Layman scored 18 points, Stone had 15 points and 10 rebounds, guard Rasheed Sulaimon added 15 points and forward Robert Carter Jr. had 12 points and seven rebounds.

"He is trying to get himself going; he is a smart kid," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said of Layman. "He is playing like a senior. This is his last go-round. He wants to make the best of it."

Trimble is expected to play Saturday at Wisconsin.

"Melo is fine," Turgeon said.

Guard Jared Nickens came off the bench to contribute nine points and 10 rebounds for the Terps, who had two big first-half runs to put the game away early.

With Trimble on the bench in the second half, Sulaimon, the graduate student from Duke, slid over to point guard for part of the second half.

"We are in a good rhythm right now," Sulaimon said. "We are just getting better. I just ran the team. I knew we had a big lead. We have the capability to score in quick bursts like that."

Stone started for the first time since Dec. 1.

"I wanted to stay big. He is practicing better. He is coming," Turgeon said of Stone. "He plays starter minutes as it is."

Rutgers guard Corey Sanders did not start for the second game in a row but scored a team-high 16 points.

"We are trying to get on the same page about representing Rutgers," said Jordan, who added that Sanders accomplished that against Maryland. "It is a wonderful thing to see your guys coming together and huddling up (in the second half). These are the steps you take."

Guard Omari Grier had 13 points, guard Bishop Daniels 11 and forward D.J. Foreman 10 for Rutgers, which made just 38.6 percent of its shots from the field and had just 10 turnovers against a tough defensive squad.

"Obviously, our team is depleted because of injuries and size, but our spirit was 100 percent," said Jordan, who grew up in Washington, D.C. and is a former NBA coach with the Washington Wizards. "We played a little smarter in the second half. I like the way our kids competed. We are not concerned about individual stats."

Neither are the Terps.

"I was proud of our group tonight. We were locked in; we guarded shots. We were very good defensively. Obviously, they are short-handed," Turgeon said. "It was a fun night. We got to play a lot of guys."

Maryland (14-1, 3-0 Big Ten) held Rutgers (6-10, 0-3) to 25 percent shooting from the field in the first half.

The Terps were able to use most of their bench and built the margin to 69-34 midway through the second half on a basket by Stone.

Undermanned Rutgers has lost its first three conference games by a total of 54 points.

Rutgers has been bothered by injuries to several frontcourt players. Scarlet Knights 6-10 forward/center Ibrahima Diallo, 6-6 forward Jonathan Laurent and 6-7 forward Deshawn Freeman did not play. Freeman is averaging 13.1 points in seven games (five starts).

NOTES: The Terps play Saturday at Wisconsin. Rutgers plays host to Nebraska the same day. ... Rutgers F/C Greg Lewis is from nearby Baltimore and had two points in the first half but none in the second. ... Maryland C Diamond Stone, in his previous home game, set a school freshman record with 39 points against Penn State on Dec. 30. He started Wednesday, his sixth start overall and first since Dec. 1 at North Carolina.
Top Game Performances
 
Rutgers   Maryland
Corey Sanders 16 Scoring Jake Layman 18
Bishop Daniels 4 Assists Jaylen Brantley 2
Bishop Daniels 10 Rebounds Jared Nickens 10
DJ Foreman 4 Free Throws Made Jake Layman 5
Bishop Daniels 2 Steals Varun Ram 2
DJ Foreman 1 Blocks Diamond Stone 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Rutgers 63 38.6 7-18 12-17 11 25 2 7 10
Maryland 88 46.2 8-25 20-25 10 45 6 5 12