Maryland Terrapins: Jared Nickens Shines in Rutgers Victory

The Maryland Terrapins came away with a 73-65 win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Wednesday, January 14th. The normal scoring options for the Terps in Dezmine Wells (17 points, eight rebounds, three assists), Melo Trimble (11 points, five rebounds, four assists) and Jake Layman (12 points, 13 rebounds, three assists) played great as expected.

But there was one other player who was making only his fifth start this season that particularly stood out. His name is Jared Nickens. Nickens is known for coming off the bench and producing, and producing is indeed what he did as a starter to play a huge part in the win against Rutgers.

As a three-point specialist, Nickens against Rutgers shot 4-for-7 from the three-point line. He is a 38 percent three-point shooter this season. Despite having only 12 points, those 12 points were huge and he was the X-factor of this game. Let’s break down the action …

Rutgers’ defense stifled the Terps’ offense early and they were able to jump out to an 8-0 run, causing Maryland to call a timeout with 16:53 to go in the first half. Trimble scored the first points for the Terps when he drained a three ball. Wells followed suit making one of his own. The lead was cut to two in a flash and tied once Michal Cekovsky went up for a two-handed slam in the post. The Terps had scored 10 unanswered points before Wells hit a mid-range jumper, making the score 12-10 Terps.

Later in the half, Evan Smotrycz brought the Terps within one after Rutgers scored. They had a 17-16 lead at this point. Dez Wells gets a corner three after a nice pass from Jake Layman, but Rutgers’ freshman guard Mike Williams hit a three of his own, cutting Maryland’s lead to one, 20-19. Shooting threes was a strength for Maryland, as it helped them keep up with Rutgers along with their stifling defense.

Jake Layman finally got on the board with a three-pointer of his own in addition to driving the lane and dunking the ball with two hands. That gave the Terps a three-point 25-22 lead; and they got some opportunities by making the extra pass and shots that came by way of both the paint and behind the arc.

As the game went on, it became a battle of the three-point shot, with each team responding to each other, possession after possession.

Jared Nickens got the party started by hitting two three’s back to back, Rutgers responded and before you knew it, the score was 38-31; and Maryland had the lead at halftime. The biggest thing that stuck out about this game in the first half was both teams stuck with one another in terms of making the three ball, and it kept both teams in the game for the most part. Each squad had seven turnovers, mutually demonstrating good defensive play.

To start the second half, Rutgers went on another run. Seven unanswered points were scored and Bishop Daniels gave them a 40-38 lead. Damonte Dodd scored the first points of second half for the Terps. Maryland started off slowly and could not get a real rhythm going until Damonte Dodd’s dunk. They then seemed to have their groove back after five minutes went by.

Rutgers jumped out to a six-point lead, 49-43 but the Terps came within one after Layman converted a one-and-one opportunity. Evan Smotrycz drove the lane, pump-faking a defender and scoring. With 6:49 to go in the game, Maryland got inyo the bonus and fouls led to free throws. It was a 55-57 Rutgers lead at that point.

Jared Nickens hit a corner three ball, cutting the lead to one, 58-59; and then the Terps took the lead thanks to a Dez Wells free-throw. With under five minutes to go, the Terps had a 62-59 lead; and minutes later Jared Nickens hit another clutch three pointer. They played great defense at the other end and as a result, Wells was sent to the free-throw line yet again, making both of them. The Terps won the game 73-65 with a full team effort contributing to the win.