Robert Carter Jr’s sixth three-point attempt of the Terrapins men’s basketball team’s 87-67 thrashing of Marshall had just clanged off the rim, but the forward didn’t sulk. He stayed locked in.
The redshirt junior hustled back on defense, raising his hands to defend Thundering Herd forward James Kelly’s layup in the paint. On the Terps’ next possession, he collected a pass from guard Melo Trimble and waltzed untouched along the left baseline for a thunderous dunk to put the Terps up 22 with less than nine minutes to go at Xfinity Center on Sunday.
The sequence, in many ways, represented Carter’s Terps tenure in a nutshell. The Georgia Tech transfer has hoisted up his share of head-scratching long-range jumpers, but he’s also been dominant in the post on both ends of the floor.
Carter didn’t receive a perfect grade, but his showing against Marshall was nearly as good as anything we’ve seen from a Terp this season. Here are the grades for the Terps.
Guard Melo Trimble: B+
Trimble sliced into the lane and spun through the Marshall defense for a nifty layup at one point in the first quarter, but otherwise relied on his jumper against the Thundering Herd. It didn’t disappoint. The sophomore poured in 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, and was 3-for-5 from three-point range. He also had seven assists.
Guard Rasheed Sulaimon: B
Sulaimon found center Diamond Stone for an early dunk, but he was more productive shooting than passing Sunday. He had 11 points by the half, and finished the game a perfect 2-for-2 from long-range.
Forward Jake Layman: C+
Layman didn’t score in the first half, but caught fire for a brief stretch in the second half. He scored eight points during the stretch, but didn’t find the bottom of the net otherwise.
Forward Robert Carter Jr.: A-
Carter was 2-for-7 from three-point range, which is never a good sign. But he made up for it with dominant play in the paint, using a mix of hook shots and spin moves to power his way to a game-high 19 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds, blocked two shots and snagged a steal. Perhaps most impressive, Carter had 15 points by halftime.
Center Diamond Stone: A-
Coach Mark Turgeon conceded his freshman probably doesn’t like coming off the bench, which he did for the fifth consecutive game Sunday. It didn’t seem to bother Stone, though, as he manhandled Marshall’s small frontcourt for 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting. He added seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
