The 2nd-ranked Maryland Terrapins, started slow and rallied late, but could not overcome their miscues, losing their first game of the season, 89-81 to the 9th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels as part of the BigTen/ACC Challenge at the Smith Center.
The Terrapins, who came into the game (6-0) after they shellacked their last opponent the Cleveland State Vikings 80-63, showed some grit and rallied from being down by as many as 13 points to take the lead at 59-58 with 13:40 to go in the game, and later got as close as 87-81 with 1:27 to play but could not complete the comeback against the talented Tar Heels.
The teams were led by their guards, Melo Trimble and Marcus Paige, who both took over the game for stretches in the second half. Trimble led all scorers with 23 points and had a double- double with 12 assists but was undone by eight turnovers as the Terrapins had 35 giveaways in the game including 22 turnovers and 13 Carolina steals which proved too much to overcome.
Paige, playing his first game of the season due to a hand injury, led his team with 20 points, five assists and two steals and seemed to make a shot after each Terrapin turnover to keep the Terps off balance.
The Tar Heels had four players in double figures as both teams shot over 50 percent from the field. North Carolina was also red hot from long distance connecting on nine of 13 from beyond the arc. Brice Johnson scored 16 points, Joel Berry II has 14 points, five assists and two steals. Kennedy Meeks added 12 points, three assists and three steals for the (6-1) Tar Heels.
The Terps, playing their biggest game of the season, appeared tight at the beginning of the game. The usually reliable Trimble struggled running the offense and had three early turnovers which allowed North Carolina to jump out to a 11-6 lead with 14:48 to go in the first half.
Maryland which continued to struggle to find its offense, fell behind 32-19 with 7:16 to go in the half, but went on a 16-9 run to overcome 13 first half turnovers as the Tar Heels took a 41-35 lead at the break.
North Carolina stretched the led to 48-40 with 18:22 to go but the resilient Terps rallied behind 17 second half Trimble points and his free throw gave them their only lead of the game at 59-58 with 13:40 to play in the contest.
From there, Carolina outscored the Terps 31-22 to secure the victory.
Maryland finished the game 12 of 26 for 46 percent from beyond the arc. They were 9-11 on free throws while the Tar Heels were only 14 for 25 from the charity stripe. North Carolina won the rebounding battle 32-30.
Rasheed Sulaimon added 18 points, three assists and three rebounds for the Terps. Robert Carter Jr. scored 11 points, collected five rebounds and had two steals in a losing effort for the (6-1) Terrapins.
