Maryland Terrapins: Trimble leads Terps past Charlotte, 88-72
Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball team returned to Baltimore, Maryland for the second consecutive season as Terps’ Melo Trimble scored 21 points in a win over Charlotte at Royal Farms Arena.
The Maryland Terrapins, who trekked just 31.4 miles north of the University of Maryland to Baltimore, Maryland for the second straight season, endured another sluggish start to beat Charlotte, 88-72, Tuesday night.
With final exams last week, the Terps looked detached early on in the first half as the team resumed play after an eight-day hiatus. Maryland trailed by 10 points, 34-24, with just 4:23 remaining in the opening half. However, following a media timeout with 3:54 to go in the first half, Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon rallied his team to cut the deficit to just a point at halftime.
Maryland’s early game struggles continued, as the team committed 13 first-half turnovers in the and shot just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.
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The game remained close early on in the second half until Maryland’s Jaylen Brantley converted a much-needed three-pointer to take a 50-47 lead with 14:20 remaining. The Terrapins never looked back after Brantley’s three-point basket and went on to score an ample 52 points in the second half.
Melo Trimble scored 21 points in the Terrapins nonconference finale, bringing his season total to seven games with at least 20 points. Freshman guard Anthony Cowan, who played a team-high 31 minutes, added 16 points including nine free throws and five assists.
Turnovers have continued to hurt Maryland this season leading up to conference play. Entering Tuesday’s game, Maryland ranked 245th in the nation in turnovers and their 21 turnovers against Charlotte increases their turnover total to 183. The Terrapins also nationally ranked towards the bottom (249th) for personal fouls with 229.
Despite the Terps .917 winning percentage to complete nonconference play, wins didn’t come easy against mediocre teams. Through 13 games, Maryland suffered plenty of scares against lower tier teams including the season opener against American, Towson, Richmond, and Charlotte.
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The Maryland Terrapins now head into Christmas break as they prepare for next week’s conference opener against Illinois at the XFINITY Center. The Terps will open conference play with two games at home before traveling to Ann Arbor to play Michigan on Saturday, January 7th. Maryland, who has yet to play a top 25 team, will host No. 16 Indiana on January 10th.