No. 2 Maryland Cruises Past St. Frances 96-55

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Robert Carter Jr. had 20 points, and No. 2 Maryland routed St. Francis 96-55 on Friday night.

The Terrapins bounced back from their first loss of the season Tuesday against No. 9 North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Freshman Diamond Stone added 16 points, and Jake Layman scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half.

Maryland (7-1) was 31 of 46 from the field (67.4 percent) and has shot at least 50 percent for five consecutive games.

Ben Millaud-Meunier led St. Francis (3-4) with 13 points. Ronnie Drinnon added 11 points with 10 rebounds for the Red Flash, who have dropped each of their four road games this season.

Layman scored eight points as Maryland opened with a 16-3 run. The Red Flash struggled to get open shots against the Terrapins' tight man-to-man defense and made just three of their first 16 shots from the field.

A jumper by Stone gave Maryland its first 20-point lead at 32-12 with 4:13 left in the half. Maryland went 15 of 22 (68.2 percent) from the field and led 45-24 at the break. The Terrapins also scored 16 points off eight St. Francis turnovers.

Maryland went deep into its reserves and a jumper and free throw by 7-foot-1 center Michal Cekovsky extended the lead to 58-28 with 14:14 left. It was the Terps' largest margin of victory and they set a season high for points.

TIP-INS

St. Francis: The Red Flash also lost their only other meeting against Maryland, 69-56, on Dec. 30, 1955. ... St Francis had 17 offensive boards.

Maryland: Junior forward Damonte Dodd got his first start of the season ahead of Stone. Dodd finished with eight points. ... Maryland has won 18 straight home games. ... St. Francis was the second opponent Maryland played from the Northeast Conference this season. The Terps beat Mount St. Mary's 80-56 in their opener.

UP NEXT

St. Francis plays Duquesne at the Cambria County War Memorial on Dec. 12.

Maryland plays Connecticut in the Jimmy V Classic in New York on Tuesday.

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