Blog from Todd Carton
Poise. If I published a dictionary that required me to define words with images, when I came to the word poise, I might well choose the Maryland men’s basketball team with its star guard Melo Trimble at the center. Maryland’s poise was on display again Tuesday night at the Value City Arena in Columbus as the Terrapins wrapped up their 20th win of the season 77-71 over the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes entered the game coming off a lopsided road loss to Iowa while the Terps had played a near perfect second half in their win at Minnesota. Ohio State had something to prove against a tired Maryland team that was wrapping up a demanding stretch that saw them play five of seven on the road.
Maryland got out to an early 10-3 lead but the Buckeyes battled back going on a 16-6 run to take their largest lead of the contest at 19-16. Neither squad was able to take control for much of the remainder of the period that featured three ties and six lead changes.
Trailing by one with 2:06 to play, the Terrapins closed the half on a 7-0 run ignited by Jared Nickens’ three pointer and took a 42-36 at the break. Trimble struggled in the half finishing with just two points, three assists and three turnovers. However, his supporting cast, particularly freshmen Justin Jackson who scored 13 of his game high 22 points and Anthony Cowan who dropped in eight and would finish with 11, provided the needed offensive punch.
The Terps carried that momentum out of the break and while they pushed the lead to 10 on several occasions couldn’t quite find the knockout punch. Feeding off their home crowd, the Buckeyes chipped away. A 7-0 run midway through the half brought them within three at 58-55 with just under 11 minutes to play. Freshman Kevin Huerter answered by dropping in a three pointer.
With the crowd roaring after C.J. Jackson’s three pointer narrowed the gap to one, Maryland calmly ran their offense and Huerter found Michal Cekovsky cutting down the lane for a two-handed slam. Ohio State would close to within one on three more occasions and each time, a poised Maryland squad had the answer. The last of those came when Jaylen Brantley retrieved an errant pass in the deep corner and found Trimble who dropped in a contested three pointer with just over two minutes to play. It was his only made three point jumper of the night.
The three freshman who start for Maryland have rightfully garnered much attention and praise for playing with a maturity that belies their youth and experience but it is the spirit of Maryland’s unquestioned leader, Melo Trimble, whose almost preternatural calm envelops his teammates in an aura of near invincibility.
Since Trimble arrived in College Park, the Terrapins have compiled a record of 75-18 – a rather enviable winning percentage of .806. Even more remarkable is their record in games decided by six points or fewer. Advanced analytics say that an average team will win about half of the games where the margin is no more than two possessions.
This season, Maryland’s gaudy 20-2 record – the best start in program history – has featured nine games within that margin. The Terps’ record in those nine games is 8-1. Lest you think that an aberration, their record in these games in the two preceding seasons was a combined 20-5. The common denominator in these 34 games over two and a half seasons? Poise. And Melo Trimble. You can look it up.
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