Layman Leads Maryland Past Morgan State 89-62
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Having seen Maryland win the Paradise Jam tournament in the Virgin Islands, Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman knew his team wouldn't have it easy against the Terrapins.
Much to his disappointment, Bozeman was absolutely right.
Jake Layman scored a career-high 27 points and Evan Smotrycz had 19 points and 12 rebounds as Maryland cruised past the Bears 89-62 Friday night.
The Terrapins (5-2) shot 62 percent from the floor and converted 13 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc in their fourth straight victory.
"You're not going to win many games when a team shoots 62 percent from the field and 65 percent from the 3-point line," said Bozeman, whose team finished seventh in the Paradise Jam. "I have to tip my cap to (coach Mark) Turgeon for having them ready. I saw the team's confidence when they were in the Virgin Islands and I knew that coming here was going to be tough."
Layman played well in the Paradise Jam, but gave no indication of what was to come against the Bears (1-7). The 6-foot-8 sophomore made nine of 12 shots and went 7 for 10 from 3-point range.
"They were leaving me wide open because our guards were driving and getting three guys on them, so it worked out well," he said.
Layman opened the second half with a dunk and added a jumper from beyond the arc for a 50-32 lead. Minutes later, he tossed a perfect alley-oop pass to Dez Wells, whose dunk put the Terrapins up by 21 with 16 minutes left.
After the Bears got to 74-60, Layman drilled two straight 3-pointers for a 20-point advantage.
"The guys were making the extra pass to him," Turgeon said. "He got in a rhythm, and their whole game plan was to stop penetration."
That left Layman open beyond the arc, and he made the Bears pay.
"From three, I was just shooting and it went in," he said.
Ian Chiles scored 17 for the Bears, who shot 37 percent -- including a 4 for 14 performance by leading scorer Justin Black, who finished with 13 points.
"Today just wasn't his day," Bozeman said.
It was Maryland's sixth win in seven games against Morgan State. The last time the teams played, in 2009, the Bears pulled off a 66-65 upset.
In this one, the Terrapins never trailed after the opening two minutes.
"It was a good night for us," Turgeon said. "We did a lot of things well. Obviously, we shot the ball well and in the end, our field goal percentage defense was pretty solid."
And, of course, Turgeon added, "Jake really shot the ball well."
Layman and Smotrycz each had 11 points, and Maryland went 7 for 13 beyond the arc in taking a 45-31 halftime lead.
After falling behind 5-3, Maryland used an 11-0 run to go ahead for good. Nick Faust fueled the charge with two baskets, a steal and an assist on an alley-oop dunk by Layman.
It was 24-15 before Wells drilled a 3-pointer and Charles Mitchell added a layup to spark an 11-4 spurt that put the Terrapins up by 16.
Black, who came in averaging 18.4 points per game, scored only two before intermission on 1 for 7 shooting.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
