Justin Jackson’s midrange jumper tied Sunday’s game against Towson at 58, but the Maryland basketball forward wasn’t overjoyed about hitting the shot to erase his team’s 13-point, second-half deficit. He backpedaled to the other end of the court, ready for the next defensive look.
The Tigers’ next trip down the floor seemed destined to end with a layup until Jackson swatted guard Brian Starr’s attempt away. The block allowed the Terps to move in transition, and guard Anthony Cowan found backcourt mate Melo Trimble for a wide-open three in the corner. With a little more than six minutes to play, the Terps had their first lead of the second half.
The sequence represented how Maryland squeaked out a 71-66 win to avoid suffering its first-ever loss to Towson in 13 meetings. Trimble and Jackson scored in different ways, but the Terps needed their combined 48 points in their third close win of the year.
“Jackson got loose for some threes — he’s obviously a terrific player — and Trimble is Trimble,” Tigers coach Pat Skerry said. “It was a good battle, but as I said, we just didn’t make enough plays late.”
Trimble had a game-high 27 points, while Jackson touted a 21-point performance in his fourth college game. Only six players scored on an afternoon in which the Terps shot 35.3 percent (18-for-51) from the field.
After Maryland lost four starters from last year’s Sweet 16 team, those around the program understood this was Trimble’s squad. The All-Big Ten guard led the Terps in scoring the past two seasons, and he appears primed to do so again as a junior. In four games, the Upper Marlboro native is averaging 19.5 points.
Sunday, Trimble overcame a 4-for-15 shooting performance to finish with his highest scoring total this season. His shots weren’t falling, so Trimble focused on getting to the line. He did so 17 times, and his career-high 16 made free throws kept Maryland in the game.
Coach Mark Turgeon has high hopes for Jackson, too, intrigued with his length and ability to stretch the floor, much like former forward Jake Layman did for the Terps in recent years. He also recognizes Jackson’s learning curve.
Jackson began Maryland’s season opener on the bench and finished the game with the starters, grabbing nine boards in 26 minutes against American. When the competition increased as the Terps’ played Georgetown a few days later, so did Jackson’s play. He again played 26 minutes as a reserve, but his 17 points were second on the team behind Trimble.
In Maryland’s past two games, Jackson was in the starting lineup.
“I was hoping he was going to declare for the draft before the game,” Skerry joked about Jackson’s threat. “That would have helped us.”
Instead, the four-star recruit was the most efficient offense player. Jackson made 8 of his 13 shots and added four rebounds and two blocks in 36 minutes. He showed his ability to attack the offensive glass, get into the lane and make jump shots off the dribble.
The 6-foot-7 forward did much of his damage from beyond the arc, making five 3-pointers.
“Justin was here about two and a half hours after practice shooting [yesterday] and put a lot of time in,” Turgeon said. “He’s so good off the dribble, too, so if he’s shooting like that, he’s really unguardable.”
“I don’t like to get too hot. I don’t like to get too low,” Jackson added. “If one goes in, that’s great. If I miss, that’s great. For me it’s all about the next shot.”
Jackson’s performance commanded the attention of the 16,797 fans at the Xfinity Center, but the Ontario, Canada, native served as a complementary scoring option to Trimble.
For the second time in three games, Trimble walked to the foul line with the score tied in the final minute. As he did against Georgetown, he hit both free throws to give the Terps a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“He reminds me of a running back; he just knows how to hit the hole and finds the little creases in there,” Skerry said. “Most importantly he makes them. I’m a Red Sox fan. It’s like playing against Mariano Rivera back in the day. He’s like the ultimate closer for a team.”
