Diamond Stone sparks second-half rally, No. 3 Maryland beats Rider

Nov 20, 2016, 09:55 pm

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Freshman Diamond Stone fueled a second-half surge that brought No. 3 Maryland back from a 14-point deficit, and Jake Layman had 11 points and 11 rebounds in a 65-58 victory over Rider on Friday night.

The Terrapins (3-0) trailed 43-29 with 15:56 remaining and grabbed the lead for the first time when Rasheed Sulaimon scored on a runner in the lane with 5:19 left to make it 52-50.

It was 61-58 before Rider's Kahlil Thomas misfired on the front end of a 1-and-1. Sulaimon missed two foul shots on the other end, but Layman grabbed the rebound and clinched it with a pair of free throws.

Robert Carter Jr. scored 13 for Maryland, and Stone added 12, including eight in a 15-3 spurt that got the Terps to 46-44. After starting the first two games, Stone came off the bench to go 6-for-7 from the floor with five rebounds.

Thomas led Rider (0-3) with 14 points. After opening with losses to Princeton and La Salle, the Broncos gave the heavily favored Terps all they could handle.

Coming off an emotional 75-71 win over Georgetown, Maryland could not match Rider's intensity at the outset. The Terrapins quickly fell behind 11-5, trailed by as many as eight points in the first half and grabbed only four more rebounds despite owning a decided height advantage.

After rallying to 31-29 at the break, Maryland went scoreless for the opening four minutes of the second half while the Broncos got points from four different players in a 12-0 run.

Maryland called timeout, and Stone returned to make a layup. The Terrapins began pressing on defense and immediately forced a turnover that led to a basket by Layman. Another Rider turnover led to a follow-dunk by Stone, and the sellout crowd of 17,950 roared as the Broncos took a timeout.

Rider led 50-47 before Melo Trimble made a three-point play, and Sulaimon finally put the Terrapins in front.

The Broncos, however, weren't quite done. Two free throws by Teddy Okereafor tied it before Trimble hit a 3 and Layman scored on a follow.

A layup by Stone made it 59-54, but two straight baskets by Thomas cut the gap to 59-58 with 1:09 remaining.

TIP-INS

Rider: The Broncos are 0-4 against Maryland and haven't beaten a top-20 team since defeating No. 18 Mississippi State in 2009. ... Okereafor had 11 points and seven assists.

Maryland: Layman became the 40th player in school history with 500 career rebounds. ... Michal Cekovsky started in place of Stone and did not score.

UP NEXT

Rider: The Broncos travel to Cancun to play Cleveland State on Tuesday.

Maryland: The Terrapins face Illinois State in Mexico as part of the Cancun Challenge.