The bench cheers after an and-1 during the the Terps’ 76-66 win against Connecticut in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 8, 2015.

NEW YORK — Before the Terrapins men’s basketball season began, analysts cited depth as a major factor in the team’s lofty preseason rankings. But that advantage was dealt a blow when guard Dion Wiley suffered a season-ending knee injury.

With the loss of Wiley — a key contributor who Turgeon said was expected to start — backcourt depth suddenly became an issue, especially in high-profile matchups. In an 89-81 loss to No. 3 North Carolina on Dec. 1, Terps guard Melo Trimble played 38 of a possible 40 minutes and Turgeon gave significant minutes to eight players.

The Tar Heels pulled away down the stretch, and after the game, Turgeon said fatigue affected Trimble late.

Tuesday was a different story. Turgeon used 11 players in the first half, and 10 Terps played six minutes or more against Connecticut. Those minutes off the bench allowed the starters, including Trimble, to rest during the first half and allowed the No. 6 Terps to hang on late in a 76-66 win over the Huskies at Madison Square Garden.

“It really helped us down the stretch,” Turgeon said. “I thought our guys were much fresher than they were in the North Carolina game because I was able to share minutes in the first half.”

READ MORE: COLUMN: Terps get solid play from Stone in first half

Trimble played 34 minutes Tuesday, and while he was fouled repeatedly, he didn’t appear to tire late. The sophomore scored seven of the Terps’ final 11 points.

That late-game scoring outburst was part of a game-high 25 points for Trimble, who went 5-for-10 from the field and 14-for-15 from the free-throw line.

“Melo controlled the whole game,” Huskies coach Kevin Ollie said. “He was getting into our paint at will.”

While Trimble had a game-high 23 points against the Tar Heels, he missed three of his final four shots, and his last free throw came with 13:40 remaining.

The emergence of junior college transfer guard Jaylen Brantley, who played one minute against the Tar Heels, allowed Turgeon to rest Trimble more during the opening period. After scoring seven points Friday in a 96-55 win over St. Francis (PA), Brantley played six minutes Tuesday.

Plus, the Terps had a sizable first-half advantage to work with. They led by as many as 20 and took a 16-point lead into the break.

“The game was going well,” Turgeon said. “We were up. It’s easy to sub when things are going that well.”

But Turgeon didn’t enter the game planning to rely on so many players. Foul trouble with the Terps’ big men, a common theme this season, meant forward Ivan Bender was thrust into the game for just his second career appearance.

Forwards Damonte Dodd, Robert Carter Jr. and Michal Cekovsky, plus center Diamond Stone, all picked up two fouls in the first half.

So when the Terps were tested down the stretch and the lead was whittled down to three with less than three minutes remaining, the Terps had enough energy left to play solid defense. Plus, all the big men still had fouls to give.

“We got stops the whole game,” said Carter, who played 22 minutes, two less than his season average. “We just told each other, ‘Just focus on defense and everything else will take care of itself.’”

After playing 32 minutes three days prior to the North Carolina loss, Trimble entered Tuesday’s matchup rested. He played 26 minutes Friday in a blowout over St. Francis and didn’t attempt a free throw. While Trimble had seven assists, he scored three points and didn’t waste much energy driving to the rim.

Against UConn, which received the most votes of any unranked team in the Associated Press poll, Trimble attacked the basket and shouldered a larger scoring burden.

“When I had three points, I felt my team was doing a really good job of scoring, and it wasn’t a night to score a lot of points, and we pulled out the win,” Trimble said. “Tonight was my night to score a lot of points, and we won.”

While the Terps’ bench didn’t stuff the stat sheet — apart from Stone, they combined for eight points — it allowed the Terps’ stars to get crucial breathers and stay out of foul trouble.

Those extra minutes of rest helped propel the Terps to a marquee win Tuesday.

“They were tougher than us in every aspect,” Ollie said. “Melo Trimble had more free throws than we took. That’s just being aggressive.”