Terrapin Station
Fansided

Maryland Basketball: Purdue Sneaks Past Maryland

By Wesley Brown

Feb 4, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Carsen Edwards (3) makes the game winning free throw against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Carsen Edwards (3) makes the game winning free throw against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

With No. 23 Purdue in town, the Maryland basketball team looked to add a ranked win to their resumé, and they should have gotten it.

Much like in their last loss against Nebraska, Maryland went the final 7:37 without a field goal, giving the Boilermakers an opportunity to capitalize for a 73-72 win.

Guard Melo Trimble scored 22 points (4-of-15 shooting) and dished out five assists in the loss.

Purdue managed to get possession of the ball down just one point after Trimble missed a short jumper with just 16 seconds left. After a timeout with 6.5 seconds on the clock, Carsen Edwards took the ball to the paint, drawing a foul on Justin Jackson from behind with 2.1 left.

After he sank both shots, Maryland was desperate to create a chance they could finish.

This chance came after the inbounds pass was too high for Damonte Dodd to catch, as Isaac Haas caught the ball, and traveled before the horn sounded. Kevin Huerter said after the game they “thought it was over,” but Maryland got five tenths of a second added back to run one play and score.

Coach Mark Turgeon attempted to cause confusion inside, ultimately creating an open three for Kevin Huerter, which sailed wide left and hit the rim. The shot really is questionable as to whether it would have even counted.

“This one hurts” were the words from Mark Turgeon because the team did enough to win this game, but fell short.

Maryland opened the game on fire, causing a Purdue timeout just minutes in after an 11-2 start. They would manage to keep the game rather separated until about 14 minutes in, when Purdue battled their way back and eventually took a short lead before the half.

The Terrapins led 36-34 at the half on over 45 percent shooting, including baskets from nine players in the first 20 minutes.

The second half was more of what Maryland fans have grown used to. The Terrapins managed to obtain a 12 point lead with 13:47 left in the game, and Purdue blew them away. Coach Matt Painter said he thought the game was over and Maryland would widen the gap to an unbeatable point.

Instead, in a matter of four minutes, Purdue managed to make it a 52-51 score line, with less than 10 minutes to play.  Maryland ended up going the last 7:37 without a field goal, relying on free throws to keep them up. A tactic that will pretty much never work in college basketball.

If Maryland could have made their open shots and capitalized on more of the Boilermakers’ 11 turnovers, the game could have been won easily.

Next: Recapping National Signing Day

The Terrapins fall to 20-3 with a trip to Penn State on Tuesday, and returning to Xfinity Center next Saturday against Ohio State. Luckily, with Purdue being ranked, Maryland most likely wont fall from the Top 25 and can build themselves back up ahead of their tough schedule to end the conference season.