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Maryland Basketball: Terps topple Scarlet Knights

By Wesley Brown

Jan 24, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) dribbles as Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Corey Sanders (3) defends during the second half at Xfinity Center. Maryland Terrapins defeated Rutgers Scarlet Knights 67-55 Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 24, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) dribbles as Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Corey Sanders (3) defends during the second half at Xfinity Center. Maryland Terrapins defeated Rutgers Scarlet Knights 67-55 Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Maryland basketball team definitely struggled to make shots in the first half on Tuesday evening.

However, the Terrapins were able to outscore Rutgers 33-26 in the second half on their way to a 67-55 win.

Despite not practicing on Monday due to an illness, guard Melo Trimble still managed to lead the way with 17 points (5-of-8 shooting), six rebounds, and four assists. His backcourt mate, Kevin Huerter, also thrived as he added 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

With students returning to campus for class, Maryland went back to the basics to please a sellout crowd at Xfinity Center. The Terps had assists on 15 of their 23 field goals and kept the rebounding margin within one at 40-39 in favor of Rutgers.

The Terps jumped out to a lead to start the game as they begun on an 8-0 run to jump out to an 8-2 advantage. However, Rutgers didn’t go away and clawed back to take a 20-19 lead with 6:33 left in the half after a Nigel Johnson layup in transition.

Maryland was able to show some signs of life late in the first half. With 55 seconds remaining, Huerter threw a beautiful crosscourt pass to Trimble, who was wide-open for a three in the corner.

As time expired in the half, L.G. Gill found himself wide-open in the exact same spot and connected on a corner three to give Maryland a 34-29 lead at the break.

That truly was the lift that the Terps needed to get going.

Just 45 seconds into the second half, Maryland got basket from Justin Jackson and Huerter to extend their lead to nine points. Rutgers did manage to get it down to a 38-35 game at the 17:30 mark, but that was as close as they would get in the second half.

Throughout the rest of the contest, it was a marathon that only the Terps would control. With 9:20 remaining in the game, Maryland led Rutgers 58-41 and weren’t really in danger of relinquishing that advantage.

The Terps scored just 11 points in the final 10 minutes. However, the Scarlet Knights just couldn’t make shots, so the game was never really in doubt in the second half.

Maryland travels to face Minnesota on Saturday and hope to push their Top 25 ranking after some more shake-ups across the country.

Next: Jake Layman sent to D-League

Notes:

  • Michal Cekovsky and Dion Wiley made brief returns on Tuesday. This was huge with Maryland about to go into the tough part of the season.
  • Maryland will face a rough month ahead, facing Minnesota twice, Purdue at home, and having road games against Wisconsin and Northwestern. Where the Terps are after this stretch will show the committee the real Maryland team.