The final seconds ticked away — 30, then 25, then 20 — as Terrapins men’s basketball guard Melo Trimble wandered around the court. The Terps star walked past Wisconsin forward Vitto Brown and stopped at the right edge of the paint. With the Terps down 13 against the Badgers and about to suffer their first home defeat in 28 games, Trimble bent over and stared at the floor. With his hands on his knees, he was left to contemplate one of the worst offensive games of his career.
Trimble had 10 points but went 1-for-14 from the field Saturday. In other games this season when Trimble has shot poorly, such as a 72-61 win over then-No. 18 Purdue on Feb. 6, he became a facilitator. But Saturday he had nearly as many turnovers (five) as assists (six) in the then-No. 2 Terps’ 70-57 loss to the Badgers.
Before the final buzzer sounded, Trimble and some of his teammates started walking toward the bench. When a shot-clock violation with less than a second remaining forced the Terps to inbound the ball one more time, Trimble lingered at the edge of the court next to the bench with his jersey untucked. He seemed ready to put the game behind him.
Trimble will have a chance to rebound and break out of his recent struggles when the Terps play at Minnesota on Thursday. In the Terps’ last two games against Division I opponents, Trimble has gone 3-for-26 from the field. As the Terps’ floor general and leading scorer, he sets the tone. In the Terps’ two losses to unranked teams, Trimble has scored 10 points or fewer.
While Trimble has struggled recently, senior forward Jake Layman said teams aren’t doing anything drastically different against the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. Trimble is just in a slump.
“He’s gotten some open shots,” Layman said. “He’s just got to knock them down.”
The Badgers’ game plan was simple Saturday, Brown said. They didn’t want to give Trimble any space after he had 21 points and nailed the game-winning 3-pointer in a 63-60 Terps’ win on Jan. 9.
“We just wanted to put more pressure on him,” said Brown, who had a game-high 21 points Saturday. “We let him run around a little freely last game and that really hurt us obviously.”
Trimble’s only made basket Saturday came on his first shot in the second half. After an 0-for-5 start, Trimble converted a layup in transition less than three minutes into the half. It didn’t spark an offensive resurgence, though. Trimble struggled to hit jumpers or convert his slashing drives into points, finishing 1-for-9 from the field in the second half.
But coach Mark Turgeon didn’t put much stock in those numbers. The Terps, who trailed by 15 at halftime, were simply trying to get back into the game by pushing the pace.
“Second half, we were at the park playing basketball,” Turgeon said. “So I really can’t judge our shot selection as much in the second half.”
With Trimble’s shot not falling, he did manage to get to the free-throw line. The sophomore was 8-for-10 at the charity stripe. In other games when Trimble has struggled this season, he’s been unable to get to the line. In a 70-67 loss to Michigan, Trimble had two points and didn’t attempt a free throw. Plus, he had more turnovers (four) than assists (three).
He bounced back, though. In two of the next three games, he had 18 points or more. In the other contest, he finished with nine assists to three turnovers. So after the Wisconsin loss Saturday, Layman said his message to Trimble would be simple: Keep your head up.
“Just keep being aggressive,” Layman said. “Just stay confident.”
After all, Trimble is still the team’s leader and primary option down the stretch.
“We trust him with the ball in his hands,” Layman said. “If the game came down to the wire, if it was down to one shot, it would be in his hands no matter what. No matter what he was shooting in the game.”
