Coach Mark Turgeon stood in front of a television camera at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Sunday night, with the entire Terrapins men’s basketball team celebrating in the background. They huddled around each other, flashing smiles and raising one finger.
After Turgeon’s postgame interview, the reporter turned her attention to guard Melo Trimble. In turn, the team dispersed from view.
It was that type of night. With the No. 5-seed Terps’ season on the line, the Terps ceded the spotlight to their leader time and time again.
Plenty of Terps had hands in the 73-60 victory over No. 13-seed Hawaii, but it was Trimble who led the way with 24 points, 13 of which came from the line.
Many have been critical of Trimble this year, including myself. He’s looked lost on offense at times, crippling the Terps in crucial games — he shot 2-for-15 in their Big Ten semifinal loss to Michigan State last weekend.
The offense always flows through Trimble, for better and for worse.
Sunday, Trimble continually attacked the rim, keeping his head up even when shot wasn’t going down. It was the type of performance the Terps needed to advance to their first Sweet 16 since 2003.
Here are my postgame grades:
Guard Melo Trimble: B+
It wasn’t pretty — Trimble shot 5-for-14 and 1 of 6 from long range — but it was effective. The sophomore got to the foul line 14 times and even hauled in eight rebounds.
Guard Rasheed Sulaimon: B+
Sulaimon was a calming presence for the Terps, keeping their spirits high amid dark times. In the Terps’ decisive 14-0 run midway through the second half, he scored or assisted on three consecutive possessions. First, he converted a layup before throwing an alley-oop to center Diamond Stone and then finding forward Jake Layman for a dunk.
Forward Jake Layman: B+
Layman finished with 10 points on eight shots, though it took a little while for the Terps to get him involved. Still, he played solid defense and recorded six rebounds.
Forward Robert Carter Jr: B
In one of his quieter offensive performances of the season, Carter made his presence felt on the glass on a night when Stone didn’t — he had a team-high nine rebounds.
Center Diamond Stone: B+
The freshman had an ugly lapse in the first half, allowing an easy defensive rebound to slip from his grasp out of bounds. Plus, two rebounds is concerning. Still, Stone scored 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
Forward Damonte Dodd: B
Dodd’s game-high five blocks in his 16 minutes of play made a huge difference. His most important block came with 10:35 left when he stopped Stefan Jankovic at the rim and Sulaimon ran the court for a layup to tie the game at 41.
