Tortoise escapes hare
Terps survive South Dakota State, 79-74
As sophomore point guard Melo Trimble took a seat on the bench after fouling out with 1:03 to go, the angst among the Maryland fans who had made the cross-country trek to Spokane Arena was palpable.
Fortunately for the Terps, senior forward Jake Layman took on the role normally played by Trimble — closer — and helped lead Maryland into the second round with a 79-74 victory over the 12th-seeded Jackrabbits.
Layman finished with 27 points, including 17 in the second half, to tie his career high. A pair of free throws by Layman with 18 seconds left gave Maryland (26-8) a five-point lead that the Terps nearly gave away.
“It was tough having him on the bench,” Layman said of Trimble, who had scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half, when Maryland built its lead to 12. “I'm proud of our guys to step up like that and make free throws.”
Some of the biggest free throws Maryland made came with Trimble still in the game and South Dakota State mounting a comeback from a 64-46 deficit with 8:49 left. Two fouls drew loud boos from a crowd that was pulling for the underdogs.
The Terps were bailed out twice by the referees, once when sophomore wing Jared Nickens (14 points off the bench) was fouled as the 30-second shot clock was about to expire and again when Trimble could have been called for his fifth with 2:33 to go.
South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy declined to blame the officials.
“They explained to us at the beginning of the year that they were going to call it tight,” Nagy said. “Every coach is going to agree and disagree, and those calls were not the reason we lost the game. Of all the people in the gym, that's the last job I would want.”
Asked whether he talked to his players about some of the upsets of higher-seeded teams in the tournament, including fourth-seeded California's loss to Hawaii and second-seeded Michigan State's loss to 15th-seeded Middle Tennessee State, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said it never was a factor.
“We don't ever talk about losing,” Turgeon said. “We talk about winning and advancing.”
While Layman made all eight of his free throws and the Terps converted 24 of 27 for the game, the most pressure-packed foul shots might have been shot by Trimble's backup, little-used sophomore Jaylen Brantley, with 12 seconds to go.
After South Dakota State guard Deondre Parks (22 points) had cut Maryland's lead to two points with 14 seconds remaining by converting three straight free throws on a foul by senior guard Rasheed Sulaimon, Brantley was fouled on the inbounds pass.
Having taken just two free throws — making both — in the past two months and only 12 (making eight) all season, Brantley said, “That was the most pressure I ever had in my life, the biggest free throws I've ever shot — not even close.”
That could also describe Brantley's first attempt, which skimmed the rim and ricocheted hard off the backboard. Somehow, the junior college transfer calmed himself and made the second cleanly.
Brantley then combined with Sulaimon on what turned out to be a season-saving defensive play, forcing backup point guard Keaton Moffitt to pick up his dribble and pass in the waning seconds.
Sulaimon's steal and dunk sealed the victory for the Terps, who move on to the second round for the second straight year. Maryland, which has won 12 straight NCAA tournament openers, will play No. 13 seed Hawaii on Sunday. The Rainbow Warriors upset Cal, 77-66, earlier in the day.
Layman, criticized throughout his career for not being aggressive, was the reason the Terps will play for a chance to go to their first Sweet 16 in 13 years and erase the ghosts of an agonizing second-round loss to Michigan State six years ago, also in Spokane.
A year after taking just one shot from the field and scoring four points in a three-point win over No. 13 seed Valparaiso in his first career NCAA tournament game, Layman hit seven of 11 shots overall and five of eight 3-point attempts. His made 3s tied a school NCAA tournament record.
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