Forward Evan Smotrycz steps to cut off an Abilene Christian guard during the Terps’ 67-44 victory over the Wildcats on Nov. 13, 2013.
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands — Northern Iowa paid attention while forward Jake Layman’s hot shooting and explosiveness near the rim sparked the Terrapins men’s basketball team to a comfortable 68-43 win over Marist in the opening round of the Paradise Jam on Friday afternoon.
So when the Panthers took the floor against the Terps in the tournament’s first semifinal last night, they made sure to have a defender shadowing the Terps’ leading scorer all game long. They didn’t switch players guarding Layman; they often sent extra defenders at him and they forced the Terps to find other ways to score.
Layman’s teammates responded to the Panthers’ challenge, and four different Terps scored at least 16 points to help the Terps earn an 80-66 win last night and a trip to the tournament final tonight against Providence. Layman chipped in with 19 points, but guards Dez Wells and Nick Faust and forward Evan Smotrycz finally gave the 6-foot-8 sophomore some help.
None of the Terps’ trio of juniors scored in double figures against the Red Foxes, causing coach Mark Turgeon to plead for improved production. Against Northern Iowa, Turgeon got his wish as Wells (16 points, 6 assists), Faust (17 points, 6 rebounds) and Smotrycz (20 points, 9 rebounds) spearheaded a complete effort against the Panthers.
“It’s nice to see other guys hit some shots besides Jake Layman,” Turgeon said. “Smotrycz hit some shots. Nick hit a shot. Dez was able to get to the basket, so it’s a gutsy win for us.”
Layman’s 19 points marked the Terps’ second highest total, but just as importantly, his presence on the floor helped his teammates find space.
Wells laughed after the game when asked about how opponents guard Layman.
“Nobody’s going to help off Jake,” Wells said.
Faust, Wells and Smotrycz all shot better than 50 percent from the field as Northern Iowa’s defenders hugged up on Layman.
“If they don’t want to help, that’s fine,” Turgeon said. “We got good drivers.”
Early in the game, the Terps (3-2) ran Layman off screens to try and free him up, but nothing worked. So Faust gave the Terps a burst early by scoring the team’s first five points against the Panthers (2-3).
After that, Wells moved from point guard to the wing when freshman Roddy Peters checked in, and he instantly became more aggressive. Wells scored 10 points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting.
Wells sent the Terps into the break with a three-point lead after he finished a strong drive by laying the ball though the hoop with five seconds to play in the first half.
“We did a really good job finishing the half,” Smotrycz said. “And that carried over into the second half.”
Smotrycz got hot to help the Terps build their lead to 10 points after halftime. He scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and he was 3-of-3 on 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes.
At one point midway through the second half, Smotrycz hit two 3-pointers in a row on assists from Wells. After the Terps finished the first half 0-of-8 from three-point range, they went 6-of-10 in the second half.
The Terps, who struggled with turnovers early in the season, had 12 assists to eight giveaways against the Panthers.
“We played at a better pace,” Turgeon said. “I got control of my point guards, we played [at] a better pace and we executed.”
Still, the Terps couldn’t pull away as the Panthers used a balanced attack of their own to keep the game within reach. Forward Seth Tuttle’s 19 points led four different Panthers in double figures.
The Panthers trimmed the lead to two with less than six minutes remaining, but on the next play Layman caught a lob pass and slammed it down while taking contact, and he hit the free throw to complete a three-point play.
With the team up by seven and less than a minute to play, Wells drove and hit Layman for a 3-pointer — one of Wells’ six second-half assists — to give the Terps a 10-point edge and bury the pesky Panthers.
“It’s a great win for us,” Turgeon said. “I thought Northern Iowa played really well. I thought they played great defensively, especially in the second half. But we’re really growing up.”
