Three for three
Trimble’s game-winner secures Big Ten’s third seed
COLLEGE PARK — Melo Trimble’s three-year career at Maryland has been a blur of big games and big shots, coinciding with the team’s turnaround from a middleof-the pack wannabe in the Atlantic Coast Conference to a perennial contender in the Big Ten Conference.
Though the Terps have still yet to claim their first conference title under coach Mark Turgeon, Trimble has provided his share of highlights. The junior guard added another Saturday at Xfinity Center, in much the same way he did as a sophomore playing against Wisconsin. Big Ten quarterfinal NO. 3 SEED MARYLAND VS. TBA
In fact, it nearly followed the same script, down to the final score.
Told by Turgeon to drive to the basket in the waning seconds of a tie game against Michigan State, Trimble pulled up from about 25 feet on the left wing and hit a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to give the Terps a 63-60 victory and a double-bye in next week’s Big Ten tournament in Washington.
The victory gives Maryland (24-7, 12-6 Big Ten) momentum going into Verizon Center, where the Terps will be the No. 3 seed. It marks the fifth time Trimble provided the winning points in the final 30 seconds this season.
Just as he did at Kohl Center last season in hitting the first game-winning shot of his career — a straightaway 28-footer with 1.2 seconds left as the 30-second clock was about to expire for another 63-60 win — Trimble had a different idea than Turgeon about what to do with the last shot.