Second-ranked Maryland played its best half of the season in the first half on Wednesday and cruised to an 86-63 victory over Rhode Island in the title game of the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Forward Robert Carter Jr. had 13 of his 18 points in the first half and also had nine rebounds. Maryland (5-0), which shot 64 percent in the first half, received 17 points each from point guard Melo Trimble and senior guard Rasheed Sulaimon. Trimble, who had 12 points in the first half, was named tourney MVP.

The Terps are now 25-6 in the month of November under head coach Mark Turgeon, with 15 wins in a row in the month since a 90-83 loss to Oregon State on Nov. 17, 2013. Maryland made 10 of 17 three-point shots and hit 60 percent of its shots overall.

The Terps built a 22-point lead at 37-15 late in the first half on a basket by Carter just seconds after he blocked a shot at the other end. Rhode Island cut the lead to 37-23 but Maryland led 44-28 at the break as Trimble hit a shot just before halftime.

Maryland jumped out fast in the second half and assumed a lead of 53-30 on a three-pointer by all-tourney pick Sulaimon and a basket by forward Jake Layman. The Terps got two free throws, a basket and two more free throws in a quick stretch from freshman center Diamond Stone to make it 76-47 as Maryland breezed to the win. Stone had 10 points before fouling out and guard Jared Nickens of the Terps also had 10 points.

Rhode Island (3-2), picked to finished second in the Atlantic 10 Conference, was paced by forward Kuran Iverson with 19 points and center Earl Watson, who scored 17. Iverson had 12 of his points in the first half.

Rams guard Four McGlynn entered the game with an average of 13 points per game, but he was held to six points. McGlynn began his college career at Vermont and then played at Towson near Baltimore and is now a graduate student at URI.

Maryland now leads the all-time series 3-1. The only win for Rhode Island in the series was by a score of 59-53 on Jan. 5, 1940, in a game played in Elizabeth, N.J. The previous meeting between the schools came in the 1979 NIT as Maryland won in triple overtime.

The last time the Rams beat a team ranked No. 2 or higher was against No. 2 Kansas in 1998.

The Terps return to action at home Saturday against Cleveland State while Rhode Island will host Rider on Sunday.