*FAN SUBMISSION by Viktors Bebris of College Park, Md.*
Courtesy: Washington Times
The Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball team won a game against the Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday, January 25th in College Park. This was a game that they should never have won. From the beginning tip, this game was destined to turn into an upset loss at home for the Maryland Terrapins. It seemed that they were reeling from the 19 point blowout loss they recently had suffered at the hands of the Indiana Hoosiers, who were ranked 23rd in the nation at that time.
The game against the Northwestern Wildcats started poorly for the Maryland Terrapins. In the first minute and a half of the game they did not score and found themselves in a four point hole. At the 18:28 mark in the first half ,Jake Layman hit a 3-pointer to get his team finally on the score sheet. The Maryland Terrapins held close to the Northwestern Wildcats, but they never were able to go ahead.
Courtesy: The State.com
By the 10 minute mark or the midway point in the first half they were down 25-13. This is not the kind of start a 13th ranked team in the nation would like to have in front of their home fans. But for a team off to a surprise season, it could be expected out of the young core. Again the Maryland Terrapins would fight to keep their ground. A few times they got close, but by half time they were down by 11 points and the score was 41-30.
The play of the Maryland Terrapins in the first part of the second half was no different of a performance. The game finally changed when the head coach, Mark Turgeon, decided to go with a full-court press and were able to get the Northwestern Wildcats off balance. After a few turnovers and some missed shots the Maryland Terrapins were within striking distance to pull off a comeback. Layman hit a 3-pointer that cut the lead to 65-62 with 1:05 left in the game.
The Maryland Terrapins never lead in this game until point guard Melo Trimble (one of the best freshman guards in the entire country) made 2 free throws with 21 seconds remaining in the game. The game should never have gone in their favor, but this speaks well of the resiliency of the Maryland Terrapin team that features four freshman playing significant minutes.
Courtesy: SI.com
After a two-point field goal by Northwestern’s Tre Demps the Maryland Terrapins were again down and staring at defeat. Trimble brought the ball down court and took a hasty 3-point shot and missed. In a blur ,Maryland Terrapin wing Dez Wells swooped through the air, collected the ball and shot it back into the net. College Park erupted as they were up 68-67 with 1.4 seconds left in the game. Victory was finally in their hands.
This game could have spelled disaster for the Maryland Terrapins on campus because it took place the night before the 2015 spring semester started. But with an epic comeback the basketball team was able to pull out the win and give the faithful a good start to the semester. The partying may not have been extravagant, but it would not have shocked anyone if some of the student body were especially tired going to their first classes on that Monday morning.
