Maryland and Iowa State duke it out for tournament title

Nov 25, 2014 - 5:04 PM Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - The first-ever meeting between the Maryland Terrapins and the 13th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones is set to take place on Tuesday night in the title game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic.

Both of these teams are undefeated and while Maryland has one more victory, it is Iowa State that has the national ranking currently. The Cyclones defeated both Oakland and Georgia State at home in the first two games of this tournament before taking on and downing Alabama Monday night in Kansas City, 84-74.

As for the Terrapins, they too have had an easy go of it in the first two weeks of the campaign, defeating the likes of Wagner, Central Connecticut State and Fordham all by at least 16 points. However, Monday night saw the team barely squeak by versus Arizona State, needing a late run to pull off the 78-73 victory.

Tied at 71-71 with 1:52 remaining in the game, the Terps put together a 7-2 scoring run to close out against Arizona State and capture the win last night. Maryland, which held a 34-24 rebounding advantage, shot 47.5 percent from the floor on the night, including 6-of-13 behind the 3-point line as Melo Trimble tallied 31 points with the help of not only 4-of-6 on the perimeter but also a near-perfect 13-of-14 at the free-throw line.

Dez Wells and Jake Layman contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively, the former also clearing eight rebounds, handing out four assists and making four steals in the triumph.

Wells is one of three players scoring in double figures for Maryland at the moment, posting 16.8 ppg as he shoot 54.0 percent from the field. Also in the mix are Trimble (15.5 ppg) and Layman (13.5 ppg), the latter shooting a sensational 71.4 percent from the floor through the first four games of the season for a team outscoring the opposition by an average of 22.8 ppg.

Georges Niang had his way against Alabama on Monday, scoring 28 points on 9- of-14 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 at the free-throw line, en route to the double-digit victory. Also scoring in double figures were Dustin Hogue (17 points), Naz Long (15) and Matt Thomas (13), the latter coming off the bench to convert 3-of-4 beyond the arc and lead the program with eight rebounds as well.

Although he was not as strong as usual on the glass against Alabama, Niang still leads the Cyclones in not only scoring (22.7 ppg), but also rebounding (8.7 rpg). The big man has shown exceptional touch at the free-throw line where he has converted all but two of his 24 tries, and yet the team as a whole is making only 75.3 percent at the charity stripe in the early going. Hogue (15.7 ppg), Long (14.0 ppg) and transfer Bryce Dejean-Jones (14.0 ppg) have also been crucial pieces to the program's success.