Maryland men’s basketball cruises past Rhode Island

On Wednesday, the Maryland men’s basketball team made a statement.

The Terrapins cruised to an 86-63 win over Rhode Island to win the Cancun Challenge.

Forward Robert Carter led the way for Maryland with 18 points and nine rebounds. Guard Melo Trimble also had one of his strongest performances of the young season as he scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds while dishing out four assists.

The Terps had five players that scored in double figures while the Rams only had Kuran Iverson (19 points) and Jarvis Garrett (13 points) score double-digit points.

Maryland got off to a very hot start out of the gate in the first half as they hit seven of their first 10 shots from the field. Guard Rasheed Sulaimon hit a pair of three-pointers while Carter also connected on a shot from beyond the arc.

Just one night after hitting only five of their 22 three-point field goals against Illinois State, Maryland was much more efficient as they connected on 10 of their 17 attempts from beyond the arc. Sulaimon drilled four threes while Carter, Jake Layman, and Jared Nickens hit two long-range shots apiece.

Rhode Island never could seem to get into an offensive rhythm from the opening tip. The Rams only made three of their first 12 shots and went on a 4:50 scoreless drought from the 10:56 to 6:06 mark in the first half.

Rhode Island did score five of the final seven points of the opening half to cut the deficit to 44-28 at halftime.

The second stanza saw more of the same from the Terps as they began the half on a 13-2 run. The run was highlighted by a pair of threes from Sulaimon, which proved to be a common theme throughout the evening.

The only time the Rams led during the game was when they held a 3-2 lead thanks to an Iverson shot from beyond the arc with 18:10 remaining in the first half.

One of the biggest storylines was the fact that Maryland held star guards Four McGlynn and Jared Terrell to a combined six points on 1-of-13 shooting. The Terps also controlled the glass as they had a 34-29 edge on the boards.

This is the third consecutive holiday tournament title during his tenure of coach Mark Turgeon.

Maryland will host Cleveland State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. before traveling to Chapel Hill for a date with North Carolina on Dec. 1.

Next: Maryland Basketball: Three keys to victory against Rhode Island