Maryland Terrapin’s freshman-sensation Melo Trimble had his breakout game, scoring 31 points while leading his team to a close victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils, 78-73 in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Missouri.
Trimble was two points shy of the freshman scoring record of 33 points set by Joe Smith against Rider in 1993.
It was only fitting that the Terps would pull away with the victory in the semifinals since former Maryland coach Gary Williams is part of the class that is being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Trimble, a five-star recruit and the #1 player from the state of Maryland, made the first basket for the Terps and scored four of the final seven points Maryland needed to close out the game. In between he was 7-11 from the field including a blistering 4-6 from three point range. He was also 13-14 from the free throw line.
The Terps (4-0) won on the strength of a 7-0 run to end the game. With the score tied at 71-71 after a Dez Wells tip in shot the Sun Devils hit their final bucket of the game to take a 73-71 lead with 1:35 to go.
After a Terrapin timeout Trimble buried two free throws to tie the game at 73-73 with 1:22 to play. Arizona called timeout and then missed a layup that was rebounded by Jake Layman. Wells then hit the winning jumper making the score 75-73 with 41 seconds to play in the game.
After another Sun Devil timeout they missed a jumper in the lane and Layman again got a big rebound in crunch time. Trimble hit two more free throws with 18 seconds to play making the score 77-71 and the Terps could finally celebrate.
The Terrapin’s veterans, Wells and Layman struggled early but showed up when it mattered. Wells scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, as he was continually the main focus of the offense often taking his man one-on-one and slashing to the basket for his buckets. He finished with a good all-around game with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Layman, usually the teams most potent three-point shooter, did not attempt any shots from long distance and also drove to the rim to get his 12 points. He also had four rebounds.
The Sun Devils (3-1) stayed in the game because they shot over 50 percent (14-27) from three-point land. They were led in scoring by forward Jonathan Gilling who was 7-10 from beyond the arc and scored a team-high 21 points. Arizona State guard Bo Barnes was the other long distance sharpshooter. He hit 5-7 3-pointers and poured in 17 points. Center Eric Jacobsen added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Maryland got off to a slow start and missed their first six shots of the game. Trimble hit a three at the 16:03 mark of the first half to make the score 7-3. They finally settled down and a layup by 7-1 freshman forward Michal Cekovsky who scored six point, collected three rebounds and had one block, made the score 18-14 with 11:38 to go in the half.
A three-pointer by the Sun Devils Barnes gave them a lead of 28-21 with 8:46 to play. The Terrapins fought back and a Trimble free throw evened the score at 31-31 with 6:02 left in the first half.
From there the teams traded baskets with Arizona State making the final bucket and the half ended with the Sun Devils ahead 39-37. Trimble led all scorers with 18 points.
The second half saw the Terps working the ball inside while Arizona State was content to fire from long distance. The Terps controlled the paint. The had 42 inside points to 20 for the Sun Devils. They also outrebounded Arizona State 34-24. Neither team was able to open up a significant lead and a jumper by Maryland’s Layman tied the score at 44-44 with 17:01 to play. The score was tied seven times and there were 11 lead changes.
A Jacobsen free throw gave the Sun Devils their largest lead of the second half, 58-53 with 11:18 remaining in the game. The Terps stayed close and a Damonte Dodd ( 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks) layup tied the score at 61-61 with 8:46 to go.
The Terps had their largest lead of the half at 66-62 after a Trimble free throw with 5:31 left to play in the game. Arizona State countered with a pair of threes but a Trimble 3-pointer gave Maryland the lead again at 69-68 with 3:33 left to play in this tight contest.
From there, Wells tied the score at 71-71. Jacobsen made Arizona State’s final bucket to make the score 73-71. The Terps then made their final 7-0 run to gain their largest lead of the game and seize the victory.
