No. 12 Maryland Beats Minnesota 70-58 In Big Ten
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Melo Trimble scored 20 points, and No. 12 Maryland used a strong defensive performance to beat Minnesota 70-58 on Saturday in the Terrapins' inaugural Big Ten home game.
Dez Wells added 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and sophomore Damonte Dodd had a career-high 12 rebounds for the Terrapins (14-1, 2-0), who have won seven straight. Maryland hasn't been 14-1 since 1997.
Trimble, a freshman point guard, missed 10 of 15 shots from the floor but went 9 for 13 at the foul line with five rebounds.
Although the Terrapins never trailed after the opening three minutes, Minnesota (11-4, 0-2) kept it close deep into the second half. But the Golden Gophers shot only 33.8 percent in their lowest-scoring outing of the season and were outrebounded 44-35.
Maurice Walker had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Carlos Norris scored 18 for the Gophers, who have lost two in a row after a seven-game winning streak.
Maryland was nursing a 41-35 lead when Dodd swatted away a shot by Joey King. Trimble followed with a layup on the other end, and a basket by Jake Layman gave the Terrapins a 10-point cushion.
That was part of a 9-0 run that made it 47-35 with 13:50 left.
The Gophers closed to 53-46 before Wells scored off his own miss and sank two foul shots for an 11-point lead with 7:27 remaining.
Minnesota never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
The victory capped a memorable first week of Big Ten play for the Terrapins, who beat Michigan State on the road in double overtime Tuesday. Maryland is just three wins short of matching its total for all of last season.
A first half that featured a significant run by each team ended with the Terrapins up 36-33.
Maryland reserves Jared Nickens, Richaud Pack and Dion Wiley all hit 3-pointers during a 17-2 spurt that made it 32-17. Minnesota went scoreless for more than four minutes while Maryland ran off 12 consecutive points.
Deandre Mathieu stopped the Gophers' drought with a jumper, and Walker made three straight layups during a 13-0 run that cut the gap to 32-30.
TIP INS
Minnesota: The Gophers have been held under 80 points in two straight games after scoring at least 84 in all seven during their winning streak. ... Minnesota fell to 0-5 all-time against the Terrapins.
Maryland: With nine points over 13 minutes in the first half, Dodd matched his career high in scoring. He was 3 for 3 from the floor with two blocks and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
Minnesota: The Gophers host Ohio State on Tuesday.
Maryland: The Terps face Illinois on the road Wednesday.
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