As the shot swished through the nylon and Xfinity Center exploded, guard Rasheed Sulaimon calmly raised his hands and formed the universal signal for a 3-pointer, lifting his arms and sticking out three fingers on each hand.

Seconds later, Sulaimon’s teammates surrounded the graduate transfer during a timeout. The former Duke player, who three years ago was on the losing end of the Terps’ 83-81 upset win, had just given his new team the lead for good.

This offseason, experts predicted that the Terps’ new additions, specifically Sulaimon, would give them an extra edge in the hunt for the national championship.

Tuesday night, Sulaimon delivered on that promise with 10 points, seven assists and the go-ahead basket in the No. 3 Terps’ 75-71 win over Georgetown — the first time the schools met in a scheduled regular-season contest since 1993. When the Terps sputtered early, it was Sulaimon who provided stability and urged his teammates to stay even-keeled.

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Sulaimon’s calming presence, combined with a game-high 24 points from guard Melo Trimble and a 15-point second-half effort from Jake Layman, helped the Terps overcome a seven-point deficit with less than five minutes left to go. And in a game during which they trailed for more than 27 minutes, the Terps (2-0) pulled out the victory.

“Our team always felt like it was going to win,” coach Mark Turgeon said, “even when it wasn’t looking good there.”

Rasheed Sulaimon

After Sulaimon’s late 3-pointer, the Terps forced a missed jumper from Hoyas center Bradley Hayes, who had a team-high 16 points, and Trimble nailed four free throws down the stretch.

While Sulaimon provided the late spark, Trimble and Layman had 32 of the Terps’ 42 second-half points. Layman’s 3-pointer with a little more than two minutes left gave the Terps their first lead since early in the half. After the Hoyas (0-2) tied the game at 68 seconds later, Sulaimon’s shot snapped the deadlock.

“Once we got in a groove a little bit, we kind of took off,” Sulaimon said. “We showed a lot of poise tonight.”

Throughout the night, Sulaimon urged his teammates to relax on the offensive end, pushing his two palms downward. Poor communication was a problem all night, Turgeon said, and the Terps never relaxed offensively. But in the end, the returning stars and new faces did enough to earn the win.

Trimble and Layman led the comeback, but neither of the Terps’ top two returning scorers scored for nearly the first 16 minutes. Sulaimon, meanwhile, led the Terps with six first-half assists.

The Hoyas jumped out to a 9-0 lead just more than two minutes into the game. With Layman and Trimble struggling, forward Robert Carter Jr. shouldered the scoring burden. The Georgia Tech transfer finished third on the team with 12 points, including a team-high 10 in the first half.

Trimble finished the period tied for second on the team with seven points, but Layman was 0-for-4 in the first half, including two air balls. All 15 of his points came in the second period.

“Every time he missed, we kept yelling, ‘Keep shooting, Jake,” Turgeon said. “He shot his way out of it tonight.”

On the other end, the Terps struggled inside. Unlike the Terps’ season-opening opponent, Mount St. Mary’s, Georgetown had the height to bother the Terps’ big men. The Hoyas outrebounded the Terps, 36-28.

For much of the night, it appeared that would help the Hoyas to victory. Trimble and Layman accounted for the Terps’ first 18 points of the second half, but Georgetown still led 61-54 with 5:48 left.

Turgeon called a timeout, and the Terps’ veteran leaders — Sulaimon, Carter and Layman — took over.

“We just look each other in the eye and said we have enough confidence in each other to win this game,” Carter said.

About a minute later, the Terps’ comeback began with two Layman free throws. Soon after, Trimble tied the game at 61 with a 3-pointer. The Terps’ stars from last year had put the Terps within striking distance.

Three years ago, Sulamon was on the losing side of the Terps’ upset win over Duke.

Tuesday, he gave the Terps the lead for good.