#2 Terps Face Rhode Island in Cancun Finale
11/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CANCUN, Mexico - The No. 2 Maryland men's basketball team will face Rhode Island for the Riviera Division title of the Cancun Challege on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network.
WATCH: CBS Sports Network - Thad Anderson (Play-by-Play), Doug Gottlieb (Analyst)
LISTEN: Terrapin Sports Radio Network - Johnny Holliday (Play-By-Play), Chris Knoche (Analyst)
SOCIAL: Follow @TerrapinHoops on Twitter for in-game updates
storylines
• Rasheed Sulaimon scored 18 points and Melo Trimble added 15 to help the No. 2 Maryland men's basketball team beat Illinois State 77-66 on Tuesday night in the Cancun Challenge. With the game tied at 62, back-to-back 3-pointers by Jared Nickens and Sulaimon gave the Terrapins (4-0) a six-point cushion with 3:45 left. Damonte Dodd registered a career-high in points with 13, including 12 in the second half. Trimble added seven assists as five Terrapins recorded double-digit scoring, including Jake Layman (12) and Robert Carter (11).
• The Terps are now outscoring opponents 59-30 in the final five minutes of games this season, an average of plus-7.25 per game. Maryland has had an early-season tendency of key players boasting large impacts in the second half. As the Terps faced its first halftime deficit of the season vs. Rider Nov. 20, freshman Diamond Stone netted 10 of his career-high 12 points in the second stanza to lift the Terps to the win. Against Georgetown Nov. 17, Melo Trimble scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half. Jake Layman scored all 15 of his points in the second half on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor vs. the Hoyas. Damonte Dodd scored 12 of his career-high 13 points in the second half vs. Illinois State Nov. 24.
• Maryland defeated Arizona State and No. 13-ranked Iowa State to capture the 2014 CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City a year ago. Melo Trimble earned Most Valuable Player honors after averaging 21 points, three rebounds and two assists in the pair of wins. He scored a career-high 31 points in the Terps' win over ASU. It was Maryland's 30th regular season championship in school history and marked the second consecutive season under Terps head coach Mark Turgeon that Maryland won a tournament. In 2013, Maryland won the Paradise Jam with victories over Marist, Northern Iowa and Providence in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Head coach Mark Turgeon is 24-6 in the month of November while at the helm of the Maryland basketball program. The Terps own a 14-game winning streak in the month of November, including a 7-0 run a year ago. Maryland has not dropped a game in November since Nov. 17, 2013 against Oregon State (90-83). With its No. 2 ranking Monday, this is the highest-ranked team Turgeon has coached in his career.
terps top Illinois state tuesday in challenge
• Rasheed Sulaimon scored 18 points and Melo Trimble added 15 to help the No. 2 Maryland men's basketball team beat Illinois State 77-66 on Tuesday night in the Cancun Challenge.
• With the game tied at 62, back-to-back 3-pointers by Jared Nickens and Sulaimon gave the Terrapins (4-0) a six-point cushion with 3:45 left.
• Damonte Dodd registered a career-high in points with 13, including 12 in the second half. Trimble added seven assists as five Terrapins recorded double-digit scoring, including Jake Layman (12) and Robert Carter (11).
terps win 2014 cbe classic
• Maryland defeated Arizona State and No. 13-ranked Iowa State to capture the 2014 CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City a year ago.
• Melo Trimble earned Most Valuable Player honors after averaging 21 points, three rebounds and two assists in the pair of wins. He scored a career-high 31 points in the Terps' win over ASU.
• It was Maryland's 30th regular season championship in school history and marked the second consecutive season under Terps head coach Mark Turgeon that Maryland won a tournament. In 2013, Maryland won the Paradise Jam with victories over Marist, Northern Iowa and Providence in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Scouting rhode island
• Rhode Island moved to 3-1 on the year after defeating TCU, 66-60, on Tuesday night in Cancun.
• Three players are averaging 12 or more points for Rhode Island, led by 13 per game from Four McGlynn. Rhode Island is outscoring opponents by 13.5 points per game through its first four contests in 2015-16.
• Maryland is 2-1 all-time against Rhode Island. The Terps won the last meeting between the two programs, an NIT triple overtime battle at Cole Field House, 67-65, on March 7, 1979.
#Rivarly-Renewed - Terps Down Georgetown
• Rasheed Sulaimon hit a 3-pointer with 1:18 left to break a tie, and No. 3 Maryland got 24 points from Melo Trimble in a rousing 75-71 victory over neighborhood rival Georgetown on Tuesday night.
• Maryland was stretched to the finish against Georgetown, which led by seven in the second half before wilting.
• With the score tied at 68, Sulaimon made his only basket of the second half to put the Terrapins ahead to stay. Two free throws by Trimble upped the margin to five points with 12 seconds left, assuring Maryland a victory.
• Jake Layman scored 15 for the Terrapins and Robert Carter added 12.
Layman, Trimble Named to Wooden List
• Maryland men's basketball forward Jake Layman and guard Melo Trimble have been named to the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's Preseason Top-50 as announced Tuesday on ESPN's SportsCenter and on ESPN.com.
• Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious individual honor. Maryland is one of 12 schools in the country with multiple players in the top-50.
• The Top 50 nominees represent 10 conferences. The Big Ten leads all conferences with 10 selections, followed by the ACC (9), and the Big 12 (7), SEC (7), Pac-12 (5), Big East (4) and WCC (3).
Layman's Terms
• Senior forward Jake Layman is the lone four-year Terrapin on head coach Mark Turgeon's roster in 2015-16.
• Layman appeared in all 35 games last season, averaging 12.5 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game. He scored his 1,000th point at Maryland against Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.
• The Wrentham, Mass., native became the 40th member of Maryland's 500-rebound club against Rider on Nov. 20.
