The 4th-ranked Maryland Terrapins survived a scare on the road, defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 70-65 at a disappointed Pinnacle Bank Arena.
With the score 68-65 the Cornhusker’s Andrew White III missed a tying three-pointer with 14 seconds to go. Maryland’s Jake Layman snagged the rebound and passed the ball to guard Melo Trimble who was fouled immediately.
He calmly sank both free throws with seven seconds left to secure the victory.
Maryland has become clutch in tight games. Since the beginning of last season the Terrapins are 19-2 in games decided by six points or less. They have also won 16 of their last 18 Big Ten games and improved to (20-3, 9-2 Big Ten ).
Trimble took over the game for the Terps down the stretch and finished with a game-high 20 points, three assists and two rebounds. Whenever the Cornhuskers tried to gain some momentum in the second half he would sink a three-pointer to tie the game and quiet the crowd.
But Maryland freshman sensation Diamond Stone, who nearly had a triple-double, may have been Maryland’s best player. He finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best eight blocked shots.
Rasheed Sulaimon and Jared Nickens chipped in with 11 points each. Layman grabbed eight rebounds and scored six points.
The Terrapins had a sloppy first half and their 13 turnovers allowed the Cornhuskers to stay in the game. They only led 29-28 at the break.
Neither team gained a major advantage in the second half. The Terrapins had their largest lead of the second half at 47-41 on a Sulaimon dunk with 12:28 to play in the game.
From there, the game seesawed back and forth and Nebraska tied the game at 58-58 with 5:03 to go to set up the exciting finish.
The Terps won the rebounding battle 43-35. Maryland shot 51 percent from the field while holding the Cornhuskers to 32 percent shooting from the floor. Maryland was 7 for 16 from three-point range while Nebraska was 7 for 23 from beyond the arc.
Maryland went 13 for 22 from the foul line while Nebraska was 16 for 22 from the charity stripe.
White led Nebraska in scoring with 19 points and also had a team-high nine rebounds. Shavon Shields chipped in with 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Michael Jacobson added 10 points and seven rebounds in a losing effort for the (12-11, 4-6) Cornhuskers.
