When guard Melo Trimble finished an and-one layup with about 16 and a half minutes remaining in the Maryland men’s basketball team’s game against Northwestern on Saturday night, the players on the Terps’ bench jumped to their feet as the Verizon Center crowd let out one of its loudest cheers of the night.
Trimble had capped an 8-0 run to give the Terps a 44-34 advantage.
Nine minutes later, those cheers turn into boos for the referees, and the small contingent of Northwestern fans, whose applause was overshadowed by the Terps faithful who made the short trip to Washington, were audible.
Northwestern responded to Maryland’s second-half spurt with a 20-2 run. The Wildcats never surrendered that lead to defeat the Terps, 72-64, for their first quarterfinal exit since joining the conference in 2014.
“We had some breakdowns,” forward Damonte Dodd said. “They made some tough shots. It was their night.”
Guard Kevin Huerter, who scored 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting, said Maryland runs “similar-type action” on most of its plays. Coach Mark Turgeon’s offense stems from the pick-and-roll with Trimble or guard Anthony Cowan handling the ball.
That strategy helped Trimble score a career-high 32 points in Maryland’s 74-64 win at Northwestern on Feb. 15, finding angles on screens to cut in front of the defense. It’s also helped open shots on the perimeter because opponents collapse on Trimble when he drives.
Huerter said the Wildcats kept players in the paint to stabilize the Terps star, but he found open shooters, such as Huerter, who made two 3-pointers in the first half, and Cowan, who finished 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Northwestern, however, adjusted out of intermission. The Wildcats anticipated ball screens, removing lanes for Trimble to get to the basket, while also keeping defenders on the perimeter to limit Maryland’s shooters.
The Terps shot 1-for-7 during Northwestern’s run. They turned the ball over six times, three from Trimble and two on shot clock violations.
“They started going through my screens,” Trimble said. “That’s just a bad read by me and bad communication with me and the bigs. Usually, I see that. We were moving too fast. That’s a lot of my fault.”
Northwestern capitalized on Maryland’s miscues by shooting 9-for-14 during its spurt. Wildcats guard Scottie Lindsey, who didn’t play in the Terps’ previous matchup with Northwestern due to mononucleosis, scored 10 of his 17 points in the second frame.
Forward Justin Jackson said Maryland’s offense affected its defensive performance.
“They were just physical,” Turgeon said. “They were sitting on a lot of things we do. But we allowed them to do it. We were just kind of going through the motions. They pushed us out a little bit further than what we’re accustomed to.”
The Terps tried to keep their energy up throughout the drought. The players on Maryland’s bench jumped after Trimble drew a charge. After Lindsey sunk a floater to put his team up by nine, director of basketball performance Kyle Tarp screamed “Let’s go” three times.
Cowan yelled at midcourt after converting a 3-pointer to end Northwestern’s run with about seven minutes left, energizing the crowd after Maryland went more than six minutes without scoring. But on the ensuing possession, center Derek Pardon drained a jump shot, and the cheers quieted before fans began to leave with about two minutes remaining.
“Teams scout us,” Jackson said. “We have to do our best to deter things. The ball didn’t bounce in our court tonight.”
