Terps pulverize Purdue

Timothy Earl January 12, 2015 Comments Off on Terps pulverize Purdue

u-marylandOn the strength of a balanced offense and a swarming defense, the 11th-ranked Maryland Terrapins pulverized the Purdue Boilermakers 69-60 in their first-ever meeting at Mackey Arena.

The game was tied at the half and close the entire second half but the turning point came after a jumper by Boilermaker Kendall Stephens cut the Terps lead to 53-50 with 5:47 to go.

Maryland responded with a Richaud Pack layup, two Jake Layman free throws and two Melo Trimble free throws courtesy of a techincal foul on Purdue coach Matt Painter.The burst gave the Terps a 59-50 lead and Purdue never recovered.

From there Maryland’s Dez Wells took over. His two free throws gave the Terps a 61-55 lead with 3:04 to play. He then assisted on a Jon Graham layup and made two more free throws to give Maryland a 66-58 lead with 24 seconds left to play in the game. After a Purdue missed three pointer, Wells corralled the rebound and was fouled with 13.6 seconds to go.

He made one of two free throws to give Maryland a 67-60 lead with 8.2 seconds to play and was responsible for seven of Maryland’s final 10 points as the Terrapins improved to (15-2, 3-1 Big Ten) and are now tied with Michigan for second place in the Big Ten.

Dez was dazzling and ended the game with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Layman was equally impressive with a team-high 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

Freshman sensation Melo Trimble was also part of the balanced Terrapin attack and shined with 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist. Pack came off the bench to score 11 points for the Terps on 6-10 shooting from the field. Freshman guard Dion Wiley also chipped in with nine points and was another reason why Maryland’s bench outscored Purdue 28-12.

From an offensive perspective, this game was won at the free throw line as the Terrapins converted 27-31 free throws while Purdue shot 13-20 from the line.

Maryland’s defense which is second in the conference in both field goal percent defense and 3-point field goal percent defense, also contributed heavily to the win and held the Boilermakers to 37 percent shooting from the field and 5-20 from three point land. The Terps also lead the conference in blocks at 5.5 per game and finished this game with five blocks.

They also swarmed to the ball and forced 10 steals and 16 turnovers. The Terps also did a good job on Purdue’s big men, 7-footers Issac Haas and A.J. Hammons. Together they scored 12 points and collected 13 rebounds while shooting 4-11 from the field.

The Terrapins got out of the gate early and had their largest lead of the game at nine points with 14:30 to play on a 3-pointer by Pack and again at 15-6 on two Layman free throws with 11:59 to play in the first half. Purdue ended the half on a 20-11 run to tie the score at 26-26 at the break.

Stephens led the Boilermakers with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Guard Rapheal Davis chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jon Octeus added 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in a losing effort for the ( 10-7, 2-2) Boilermakers.