COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Visits to Ohio State the past two seasons were an unpleasant experience for Maryland and senior forward Jake Layman.

The Terrapins were beaten handily twice by the Buckeyes in Value City Arena and they also were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by West Virginia last March in Nationwide Arena a few miles away.

So to come away with a 66-61 victory on Sunday before a hostile crowd of 16,592 was a big relief and helped erase the sting of those past disappointments.

In a Big Ten game that was nothing like a 35-point blowout two weeks earlier when the two teams met in College Park, Md., No. 8 Maryland fought off a strong Ohio State challenge in the second half to claim a road win and keep pace with front-runners Indiana and Iowa in the Big Ten race.

"Any road win is a great win," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "We knew Ohio State was going to be ready. They came out and made a bunch of 3's early, but we settled in. I thought defensively the rest of the way we were pretty good."

Sophomore guard Melo Trimble scored 20 points and senior forward Jake Layman had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Terrapins (19-3, 8-2 Big Ten), who made a quick turnaround after beating No. 3 Iowa at home on Thursday night.

"Melo's Melo," Turgeon said. "When the game's on the line, he makes plays. He's confident enough to keep shooting and we kept running plays for him."

Trimble made four free throws and drilled a 3-pointer in the final 5:22. Layman was similarly a major contributor all afternoon, not only as a scorer but on the boards and defensively.

"He looks like a kid that's played a ton of minutes over his career," Turgeon said. "We drove the ball and got to the foul line. We have so much confidence in him. That was one of his better, (most) complete games since he's been at Maryland."

Said Layman: "I don't know about the best game I've ever played. I was just trying to do whatever I could to help us win."

Layman finished 5 of 7 from the field and 5 of 6 at the free throw line in 34 minutes after a perfect first half (4 of 4 field goals, 3 of 3 free throws). He was pleased to atone for the past two losses at Ohio State.

"Guys from last year don't understand how important it really was for me to come in here and get this win," Layman said.

Maryland opened a six-point halftime lead, but both teams started slowly in the second half before Ohio State (14-9, 6-4) rallied to lead for the first time since the opening half at 49-48 on a three-point play by junior forward Marc Loving with 6:55 remaining in the game.

The two teams traded jabs for the next minute until Maryland went ahead to stay on two free throws by Trimble with 5:22 remaining. Trimble and Maryland senior guard Rasheed Sulaimon hit 3-pointers in the final minutes to secure the win. Sulaimon's 3-pointer was his only basket of the game.

Maryland was clutch at the free-throw line, making 20 of 23 (87 percent). Ohio State struggled at the line, hitting only 14 of 24 (58.3 percent). The Buckeyes also managed to shoot just 35.6 percent from the field (21 of 59).

"Down the stretch again when the game was on the line the guys stepped up and really executed," Turgeon said. "We made some foul shots. The last four minutes of the game we were really good."

Junior forward Jae'Sean Tate led Ohio State in scoring with 16 points. Sophomore guard Kam Williams and Loving each finished with nine points for the Buckeyes, who had been blown out by the Terrapins 100-65 on Jan. 16.

"This game, we just came out with more energy and more effort," Tate said. "We put it all on the line. In the end, we came up short. Credit Maryland, they made some big-time shots."

Junior forward Robert Carter and freshman center Diamond Stone each had 10 points for Maryland. Carter had scored a career-high 25 points in the previous meeting.

"We really wanted to win here," Turgeon said. "They beat us up there pretty good the last two years. It's just good to get a win on the road."

After a three-minute scoring drought by both teams in the first half, Maryland took its first lead at 29-27 with 4:28 left on a layup by Carter off an inbounds pass. Ohio State sophomore forward Keita Bates-Diop knotted the score at 29 with a rebound basket before the Terrapins went ahead again on a driving layup by Trimble.

From there, Maryland expanded the margin to 37-31 at halftime with Layman scoring the final six points on a drive, a dunk and two free throws.

"Their six unanswered points at the end of the first half really put us behind," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "I was very upset at halftime the way we closed the first half. We were inches away and we have to close that inch."

NOTES: C Diamond Stone made his second straight start for Maryland after serving as the sixth man for most of the past two months. He had eight rebounds but was 3 of 11 from the field against Ohio State. ... The Buckeyes' 35-point loss to Maryland in the first meeting this year was its worst loss in coach Thad Matta's time at Ohio State and the largest margin of defeat since a 35-point loss to Purdue in 1994. The Buckeyes trailed by 44 points in the second half in that game. ... Ohio State had won all three matchups in Columbus with Maryland before Sunday's loss. ... Ohio State announced that former All-American Evan Turner will be honored in a ceremony during the Feb. 16 game against Michigan. His uniform number No. 21 will be hung from the rafters. ... Maryland's 18-2 record in games decided by five points or fewer since the start of last session is the best in the nation.