A day before Jake Layman stepped onto the Xfinity Center court for his final game in the arena, the Terrapins men’s basketball forward seemed like his normal self.
The 6-foot-9 senior doesn’t get overly emotional, he said Wednesday, so Thursday’s Senior Day game was just another contest for the soft-spoken forward.
A little more than 24 hours later, Layman stood at midcourt with the crowd on its feet and soaked in the moment. Flanked by his family and coach Mark Turgeon, Layman held his framed jersey in the air with a grin plastered across his face. For several seconds, he scanned the arena and thousands of cheering Terps fans.
About two hours after the No. 14 Terps’ 81-55 win over Illinois in which Layman tied a team high with 18 points, he reflected on that pregame moment. Four years have passed, but he said it felt like yesterday when he was a freshman who helped lead the Terps to the NIT semifinals. So when he was honored before the game Thursday, the normally reserved player got emotional.
“I was trying to hold it back a little bit,” Layman said. “I was just so happy that everybody was cheering for me. It was a special moment.”
Layman started the game slow with a turnover on the first possession. He missed his first shot, a 3-pointer. At halftime, Layman had just three points.
Early in the second half, though, he contributed to a vital 9-0 run. The Terps (24-6, 12-5 Big Ten) had led all game, but Illinois had just cut the deficit to eight with 17:54 remaining.
Gurad Melo Trimble, who entered Thursday 11-for-47 from field in his four games, began the spurt with a 3-pointer from the left wing. Layman followed with a 3-pointer of his own about a minute later. Then with the Illinois defense scrambling after a missed shot, Layman found an open Jared Nickens in the left corner for a 3-pointer. The reserve guard didn’t miss.
Suddenly, the Terps led by 17. Illinois (13-17, 5-12) never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
That trio – Layman, Trimble and Nickens – poured in a combined 50 points as Trimble tied Layman for the team high in points. Guard Rasheed Sulaimon, the Terps’ other senior starter, had three points but recorded nine assists to zero turnovers. The Terps also went 14-for-25 from three (56 percent).
Behind that long-range barrage, the Terps secured a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament, which starts next week.
“It helps a lot,” Turgeon said. “It would have been hard to win four games in four days.”
When the Terps’ four seniors were honored before the game, Layman was the final one. Four years after he arrived as a lanky freshman, a bulky 220-pound player strolled out to midcourt.
“If I wanted one guy to have a good game tonight, I wanted it to be Jake,” Turgeon said. “It couldn’t have gone much better.”
After the win, Nickens thanked Layman and the other three seniors, including reserve guards Varun Ram and Trevor Anzmann.
“I am thankful for everything that they have done for us,” Nickens said. “I let them know that I loved them, and I was proud of them.”
As the clock wound down Thursday, the Terps were able to enjoy their first comfortable win in weeks.
The Terps fans started chanting, “We want Varun.” When Ram, who’s from nearby Clarksville, entered, the fans turned their attention to the last senior who hadn’t seen the floor —Anzmann.
When he entered the game with more than two minutes remaining, Sulaimon and Layman exited. As Layman came out of a game for the last time at Xfinity Center, he made his way down the bench, hugging players, coaches and trainers.
His longest embrace was with Turgeon. The fifth-year coach told the guy who had stayed with him through five transfers that he was proud of him. He had gone out on top on Senior Night.
“Jake’s one of my all-time favorites,” Turgeon said. “He’s one of my all-time favorites because he stuck with me, he stuck with the program.”
