MADISON, WISCONSIN — With the game hanging in the balance Saturday, the Terrapins men’s basketball late-game strategy was simple: Put the ball in guard Melo Trimble’s hands and get out of his way.
After a Wisconsin 3-pointer knotted the game at 60 with 23 seconds remaining, Terps coach Mark Turgeon didn’t call a timeout – his mentor once told him never to do that. So as Trimble dribbled the ball up the court, he realized Turgeon was putting the fate of the game on his shoulders.
Turgeon’s decision paid off.
With two seconds remaining, Trimble calmly rose up over Wisconsin guard Zak Showalter and sank a deep 3-pointer. Turgeon hoped Trimble would drive to the basket, but when the shot fell through the nylon, the Terps didn’t care. When a heave from Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes fell short moments later, sealing the No. 3 Terps’ 63-60 victory, Trimble’s teammates rushed the court and surrounded him.
As the Badgers crowd that had been electric for much of the day watched silently, the Terps hugged, patted and jumped on Trimble. They just wanted to touch the game’s hero.
Trimble’s pull-up 3-pointer was part of his game-high 21 points that propelled the Terps (15-1, 4-0 Big Ten) to victory in a hostile Kohl Center and gave them their best start in school history at 15-1. While Trimble had missed his last three 3-pointers and was 2-for-6 from long-range before that crucial shot, Turgeon’s faith never wavered. The Terps nearly blew an eight-point lead with less than two minutes to go, but Trimble’s shot rescued them.
“We held on because Melo was Melo,” Turgeon said. “We all expect him to make it.”
After the victory, Trimble admitted that the best option would have been a drive toward the basket. But the Upper Marlboro native constantly practices pull-up 3-pointers to prepare for late-game situations. Saturday, the Terps faithful saw that pay off.
“He’s special,” Turgeon said. “He does those kinds of things.”
The Terps were in such a precarious position because the offense faltered down the stretch. After a dunk from freshman center Diamond Stone gave the Terps an eight-point lead with 4:44 left, they scored just two points until Trimble’s late-game heroics.
Wisconsin (9-8, 1-3) also caught fire late. Still trailing by eight with 1:36 remaining, the Badgers went on an 8-0 run over the next 1:13 capped by a 3-pointer from guard Bronson Koenig that knotted the game at 60.
While Koenig and Hayes remain, the Badgers’ team this year is markedly different than the squad that advanced to the national championship game last season. Without star forwards Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, the Badgers suffered home losses to Western Illinois and Milwaukee earlier in the season. Plus, legendary coach Bo Ryan retired mid-season, and Greg Gard took over in an interim role
The Badgers came out firing against the Terps, though. Plus, Kohl Center was virtually full and prepared to shower Stone with animosity.
Last spring, Stone, a Milwaukee native, picked the Terps over his home-state school. Every time Stone touched the ball Saturday, the crowd booed and then jeered when Stone committed a mistake. When he was at the free-throw line, the student section appeared to chant ACT and “You can’t read.” While Stone struggled initially he finished with 11 points, third on the team.
“I had a lot of nerves running through me,” Stone said. “But once I started playing, it felt good.”
While the Terps shot 52 percent from the field, they committed 16 turnovers and tallied a season low in points. The Terps struggled to adjust to the Badgers’ physicality early on, Turgeon said.
Saturday was billed as Stone’s homecoming, but Trimble starred. He didn’t appear bothered by the tightness in his hamstring that forced him to sit out the second half against Rutgers on Wednesday. He was 9-for-17 from the field, dished out five assists and played 35 minutes, tied for most on the team.
“The treatment over the past two days really helped,” Trimble said. “It’s something I’m kind of used to, going in and getting a lot of treatment and stretching.”
Still, the Badgers hung around. The Terps started the second half with turnovers on three of their first four possessions and Wisconsin tied the game at 36.
Over the next 10 minutes, the teams traded baskets and neither school led by more than four. Then the Terps stretched the lead to eight. A victory appeared imminent, but the Badgers’ late comeback put the result in doubt.
In the end, the Terps survived, thanks to Trimble’s clutch shot.
“Our guys are winners,” Turgeon said. “They did just enough.”
