Maryland men’s basketball’s loftiest perch in a decade also invited a precipitous fall. Fortunately for the Terps, they ensured such a calamity would not occur. The No. 4 seed lived up to its billing and clobbered No.

No. 4-seed Maryland easily handled No. 13-seed Grand Canyon, 81-49, at the Climate Pledge Arena in the opening round of March Madness. After starting 1-for-9, the Terps made 16 of their final 24 first-half shots — that included an 18-1 run that gave Willard’s team a 20-point lead, which it never looked back from.

The Maryland Terrapins took care of business Friday in their victory over Grand Canyon University in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.