The Maryland basketball team finally got back to their winning ways.
Behind a truly balanced team effort, the Terrapins cruised past Rutgers 79-59 on Tuesday evening.
Guard Melo Trimble led the way with 11 points (5-of-12 shooting) and seven assists for the Terps. Anthony Cowan and Damonte Dodd also added nine points apiece.
Maryland came out shooting the ball very well.
The Terps connected on six of their first 11 shots from the field, including two-of-four from three. They jumped out to a 14-10 lead at the Under 12 media timeout.
Maryland couldn’t seem to pull away from Rutgers throughout the first half. Their largest lead was five points despite shooting the ball well at times.
Melo Trimble did end the first half on a positive note. Despite missing a floater in the lane, Trimble was able to secure the loose ball and converted a scooping layup at the buzzer.
Trimble’s tremendous shot gave the Terps a 32-28 lead at the half.
Despite being unable to pull away in the opening half, it was certainly a different story when the second frame commenced.
Maryland made their first three shots out of the gate to extend their lead to 40-30. Two of those makes came from beyond the arc courtesy of Kevin Huerter and Trimble.
With 16:15 left in the second half, Mike Williams converted a layup to cut the lead to 42-34. However, that was as close as the Scarlet Knights would get in the second half.
Dion Wiley even got into the scoring act as he hit a three with 14:27 to go. Wiley’s trifecta put the Terps up 49-34.
Maryland ended up outscoring Rutgers 47-31 in the second half and were able to cruise to the easy road win.
The Terps got a significant boost from their frontcourt.
Ivan Bender and LG Gill both had 10 points and were a combined 9-of-10 from the field. It was a very impressive performance considering that the Terps were in foul trouble in the first half.
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Maryland basketball got a much-needed win ahead of their regular season finale. The Terps host Michigan State on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.