Maryland Cruises Past Central Connecticut State

Dec 14, 2013; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Dez Wells (32) is defended by Florida Atlantic Owls guard Jackson Trapp (12) at Comcast Center. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

For the second consecutive game, Maryland guard Dez Wells imposed his will on an inferior opponent.

Central Connecticute State was the victim this time around as Wells scored 27 points in a 93-57 Terrapin victory on Monday evening. Wells was one of four Maryland players to finish in double figures against the Blue Devils.

Wells connected on 10 of his 15 field goal attempts, and was able to score from the perimeter andat the rim.

Coach Mark Turgeon went with a slightly different lineup than he did in Friday’s season opener against Wagner. Against another NEC school, Turgeon elected to give sophomore Damonte Dodd the nod at center rather than senior Jon Graham.

The Terps jumped out to an early 10-3 lead, courtesy of five points from forward Jake Layman. Maryland connected on four of their first nine shots, and were beneficaries of Central Connecticut State missing their first five shots.

Layman turned in his second consecutive quality performance as the Massachusetts native scored 14 points to go along with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Much like the season opener, Layman shot the ball well from the outside, and was aggressive when he had to be.

Despite leading by as much as 14, the Blue Devils were able to hang around, even cutting the Maryland lead to single digits at times. The Terps took a 38-26 lead into halftime with Central Connecticut State scoring the final four points of the first half.

Maryland went on a 13-5 run to begin the second half to push their lead to 51-33 with 16:13 remaining in the game. Layman and Wells combined to score nine points during that stretch. Wells scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half, including a pair of shots from beyond the arc.

The Terps really imposed their will in the second stanza as they outscored the Blue Devils 55-31 to cruise to the easy win.

One of the biggest stars of the second half was freshman point guard Melo Trimble. Trimble scored seven of his 10 points in the half, and nine rebounds and four assists in the contest. The former Bishop O’Connell star looked much more comfortable, and made some very nice passes to open teammates throughout the game. The freshman also looks to have mastered the art of taking a charge as he was able to get back on defense on one occassion and take the offensive foul.

For the second consecutive game, Maryland shot very well from behind the three-point line. After shooting 50 percent against Wagner, the Terps shot 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from the outside, and had five players connect on at least one shot from beyond the arc.

As much success as Trimble had, guard Dion Wiley also had another productive outing. The former Potomac star scored 10 points and grabbed a pair of rebounds for the Terps. Wiley also looked more comfortable on the defensive end, which was a knock on him during his high school days.

With two solid outings to start the season, things will get a little bit tougher as Maryland will host Fordham on Friday at the Xfinity Center.