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Maryland Basketball: Terps cruise past Illinois on Senior Night

By Chris Bengel

Mar 3, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) reacts after making a three point shot during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 3, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) reacts after making a three point shot during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Maryland basketball team honored their seniors on Thursday night.

Jake Layman bid College Park quite a farewell as he had 18 points and seven rebounds. Melo Trimble also broke out of his recent funk to the tune of 18 points (7-of-14), eight rebounds, and five assists in an 81-55 win over Illinois.

The Terrapins connected on a season-high 14 three-pointers and shot 56 percent from beyond the arc. Forward Jared Nickens drilled a team-high four three-point shots on his way to a 14-point evening.

Four different Terps hit multiple shots from beyond the arc on Thursday night.

Maryland really poured it on in the second half as they outscored Illinois 50-34. In the second half, the Terps splashed home three of their first four three-point shots to push the Terps’ lead to 42-27 with 15:53 left.

The Terps had a strong effort on the glass against the Fighting Illini. Maryland held a 36-26 advantage in the rebounding department, including nine on the offensive glass.

A strong start certainly allowed the Terps to establish themselves in several areas, including defense and rebounding. Maryland came out of the gate very aggressive on both ends of the floor.

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    • The Terps didn’t allow the Illini to score until the 14:12 mark in the first half. Illinois ended up missing their first seven shots from the field.

    Maryland excelled in the rebounding department as they grabbed nine of the first 12 total boards. After a bleak performance on the glass against Purdue, this was a very welcomed sight.

    Trimble really looked to be breaking out of his scoring slump early on. Trimble connected on three of his first five shots and scored at the rim on two of those conversions.

    Trimble scored seven of Maryland’s first 15 points.

    Maryland could’ve run Illinois out of the gym if it were not for a superhuman effort from center Maverick Morgan. In the first half, Morgan scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The rest of his teammates only made three of their 18 field goal attempts.

    Morgan ended up scoring a career-high 21 points while grabbing 10 rebounds for Illinois. If not for Morgan, this game would’ve gotten out of hand a lot sooner than it did.

    Maryland’s win clinches a double-bye and a top four seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. The Terps will travel to Indiana on Sunday for their final regular season game and the Hoosiers have already locked up the Big Ten outright regular season title.

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    Along with Michigan State and Wisconsin, Maryland sits at 12-5 in Big Ten play. The Terps could finish anywhere from the second to the fourth seed in the Big Ten Tournament depending on what happens in the conference this weekend.