COLUMBUS, Ohio — There were 13.7 seconds remaining in regulation Friday night at Nationwide Arena, and Varun Ram had yet to enter the game.

But that didn’t stop Terrapins men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon from sending the 5-foot, 9-inch point guard onto the floor for the biggest defensive possession of the season.

The No. 4-seed Terps clung to a three-point lead over No. 13-seed Valparaiso. Forwards Damonte Dodd and Jake Layman, two starters, were both on the bench with five fouls. Still, the Terps defended the Crusaders’ offensive set well and prevented leading scorer Alec Peters from touching the ball.

Valparaiso guard Keith Carter, marked by Ram, dribbled away from traffic and into the corner. As the clock ticked down, Carter rose to attempt a potential game-tying three. But he never released the shot. Ram knocked the ball loose, forward Evan Smotrycz recovered, and the Terps secured a 65-62 victory — the program’s first NCAA tournament win since 2010.

Ram raised his arms and raced down the court before forward Jon Graham embraced him in a hug. The rest of the Terps crowded around the former walk-on in celebration. Ram was the 11th and final man to play for Turgeon on Friday night, but his contribution was far from overlooked.

“[He] saved all of our careers,” Graham said.

It was fitting that Ram, who’s played more than five minutes just four times this season, made a crucial play down the stretch in a game highlighted by unexpected performances.

Foul trouble handicapped the Terps for most of the night. Dodd picked up his fourth foul with 16:30 left in the game after he was called for a technical. Both Layman and guard Dez Wells played limited first-half minutes because of fouls. Turgeon was forced to go to his bench early and often, as 10 players hit the floor for the Terps before the teams had played nine minutes.

No matter. Regardless of where the contributions came from, the Terps got what they needed to advance.

Before Ram’s defensive stand in the waning seconds, freshman Jared Nickens scored 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half on four 3-pointers.

The Crusaders went to a 2-3 zone with 14:30 left in the opening period and, behind the stingy defense, rattled off a 19-4 run to take a six-point lead. But Nickens hit three of his shots from beyond the arc in the final nine minutes of the half to help the Terps overcome the defensive scheme and take a 31-27 lead into halftime. He finished with 14 points.

Despite the magnitude of those shots as far as keeping the Terps in the contest, Turgeon looked elsewhere to pinpoint his “biggest shot of the game.”

Again, it came from an unlikely source.

With the game tied at 41 and less than 11 minutes remaining in regulation, guard Dion Wiley rose up from beyond the arc and buried a go-ahead jumper. The freshman had made two 3-pointers since Feb. 4 entering Friday night.

Wiley’s minutes have varied significantly this season because of the Terps’ success. But when the team needed a bucket, he stepped up and shot with confidence. It’s the type of mentality that’s ingrained in this squad.

It starts with Wells and Turgeon and Trimble. But in reality, no Terp is afraid of the moment, because each player has faith in all of his teammates.

“We was going through a little drought at the time,” Wiley said, “and for me to make that shot, it was big for us and big for me.”

Notice which entity he mentions first. For the Terps, it’s always “us” before “me.”

“It goes to show how great of a team we have and how everybody, they don’t care about their own agenda,” Ram said. “They care about the team’s goals.”

Nickens had played one of the best games of his young career. But with 13.7 seconds remaining, Turgeon told the freshman he’d be on the bench for the final possession. The coach wanted Ram in the game.

Nickens was more than happy to give up his spot on the court. Before he did so, though, he made sure to give his teammate some words of encouragement.

“Varun, just get me a stop,” Nickens told Ram.

He did just that. And the Terps celebrated in front of their bench, hugging the 11th man.