National Basketball Association
Maryland 65, Valparaiso 62
When: 4:40 PM ET, Friday, March 20, 2015
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Officials:
# Brian Dorsey, # Tommy Nunez Jr., # Vladimir Voyard-Tadal
Attendance:
18417
By SportsDirect Inc.
Maryland 65, Valparaiso 62: Melo Trimble scored 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Terrapins survived a scare from the Crusaders in the NCAA Tournament round of 64 in Columbus, Ohio.
Dez Wells also added 14 points for fourth-seeded Maryland (28-6), which made its last eight free throws to finish 18-of-24. Jared Nickens matched a career high with four 3-pointers en route to 14 points off the bench for the Terrapins, who play fifth-seeded West Virginia in Sunday's round of 32.
Alec Peters led the way with a game-high 18 points for 13th-seeded Valparaiso (28-6), which couldn't overcome a 10-of-18 performance from the foul line. Tevonn Walker tallied 14 points and E. Victor Nickerson had eight before fouling out with 5:29 to go for the Crusaders, who went 12-of-27 from 3-point range.
Trimble connected from beyond the arc and Evan Smotrycz finished at the rim to put Maryland in front 49-43 before Peters and Nickerson buried back-to-back 3-pointers to even the score with 6:41 remaining. Wells converted a three-point play to give the Terrapins a 65-61 advantage, but they could only breathe a sigh of relief when Keith Carter lost the ball in midair as he attempted a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the dying seconds.
Peters and Darien Walker each drained two 3-pointers during a 19-4 surge as Valparaiso jumped ahead 21-15 before Trimble sparked a 13-0 run to put Maryland on top by seven. Nickens knocked down four of the Terrapins' six 3-pointers in the first half as they held the Crusaders to 29.4 percent shooting to take a 31-27 lead at intermission.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Maryland's bench outscored Valparaiso's reserves 25-10. …Terrapins F Damonte Dodd was assessed a technical foul for arguing with the officials in the second half. … Wells has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games.
Top Game Performances
Valparaiso |
|
Maryland |
Alec Peters 18 |
Scoring |
Jared Nickens 14 |
Keith Carter 5 |
Assists |
Melo Trimble 3 |
Vashil Fernandez 6 |
Rebounds |
Melo Trimble 10 |
Tevonn Walker 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Melo Trimble 5 |
E. Victor Nickerson 2 |
Steals |
Evan Smotrycz 2 |
Darien Walker 1 |
Blocks |
Damonte Dodd 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Valparaiso
|
62 |
35.7 |
12-27 |
10-18 |
12 |
27 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
Maryland
|
65 |
47.5 |
9-21 |
18-24 |
9 |
30 |
5 |
5 |
11 |