COLUMBUS, OHIO — With the Terrapins men’s basketball team facing its largest deficit of the game early Sunday, forward Jake Layman took matters into his own hands. He grabbed the ball at the top of the key, drove toward the rim and finished through contact.

The senior stared toward the crowd at Value City Arena and roared before retreating to a huddle with his teammates. In a city he had grown accustomed to losing in over the past two seasons, the soft-spoken veteran wasn’t shy about the meaning of Sunday’s 66-61 victory over Ohio State.

“Guys … don’t really understand just how important it really was for me to come in here and get this win,” Layman said.

The Terps had lost by a combined 40 points at Ohio State the past two seasons in addition to their first-weekend exit in the NCAA Tournament last year in Columbus. Sophomore guard Melo Trimble said he wasn’t thinking about it, but Layman conceded it wasn’t easy for him to block it out of his mind.

So with his past struggles at Value City Arena weighing on him — he was a combined 5-for-21 in the losses — Layman aggressively attacked the basket. He finished with 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting and snagged a game-high 10 rebounds.

“He looks like a kid that’s played a ton of minutes over his career,” coach Mark Turgeon said. “It’s one of his better games.”

READ MORE: Postgame grades for Maryland’s tight victory over Ohio State

With more scoring options around him this season, Layman has been content hanging around the perimeter at times. But after sinking a 3-pointer in the first five minutes, he began driving the ball at the Buckeyes defenders.

It started with his and-1 when the Terps were down 20-13 with 12:15 left in the first half.

“He looked like the old Jake,” forward Damonte Dodd said before adding, “just trying to go out there and dunk everything.”

That dunk would come in emphatic fashion in the final minutes of the first half. After a steal, guard Rasheed Sulaimon lobbed a pass high above the rim in transition. Layman slammed home the alley-oop with two hands to quiet a building he hadn’t been able to as a sophomore or junior.

His energy translated to the defensive end, where he helped limit Ohio State’s leading scorer Marc Loving to 1-for-9 from the floor. It came just days after he held the Big Ten’s leading scorer, Iowa’s Jarrod Uthoff, to 2-for-13 shooting.

“We just have so much confidence in him defensively,” Turgeon said. “It’s amazing what he’s doing. I thought his team defense and his individual defense was terrific. One of his better complete games since he’s been at Maryland.”

Layman was also a menace on the offensive glass. He swooped in for a game-high four offensive rebounds that led to six of the Terps’ 10 second-chance points.

The 10 rebounds earned him his third double-double of the season and the seventh of his career.

“I was just trying to do whatever I could to help us win,” Layman said. “Whether that was rebounding or playing defense on Loving [or] driving to the rim. I was just trying to be as complete a player as I could for this team.”

For much of the season, he’s resembled a complete player. He’s shut down opposing teams’ top wingers. He’s snagged 5.6 rebounds per game, the second most on the team.

But sometimes the attacking mindset wasn’t there. Or as Dodd would call it, “the old Jake” was missing.

Sunday, in his return to Columbus, old Jake emerged.

“When his shot is falling, he’s unbelievable,” Dodd said. “One of the best in the country.”