Ohio State had a tremendous chance to notch a significant victory over one of the Big Ten's best teams on Tuesday night. And again, it failed.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 36 | 35 | 71 |
| MARYLAND | 42 | 35 | 77 |
Melo Trimble poured in Maryland's final seven points and along with 22 points from Justin Jackson, the No. 17 Terrapins withstood a second-half push by the home team to snatch a 77-71 victory at Value City Arena. The victory keeps Maryland (20-2, 8-1 Big Ten) tied with Wisconsin atop the conference standings.
With a chance to tie it a the 1-minute mark, senior Marc Loving missed a runner in the lane. Trimble fought through contact at the other end and scored to extend the lead to four. C.J. Jackson then left the front-end of a 1-and-1 short and while Ohio State corralled the rebound, Jae'Sean Tate threw the ball out of bounds. Trimble made free throws to close it out.
Maryland quickly built and enjoyed a 10-point lead early the second half but the Buckeyes answered. C.J. Jackson's 3-pointer in the corner capped a 7-0 run by the Buckeyes made it 58-55 and forced a timeout by the Terrapins at the 10:38-mark. Ohio State (13-10, 3-7) got within one four separate times in the final 10 minutes but was unable to get over the hump.
Tate led Ohio State with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Loving added 18 with five rebounds and Kam Williams chipped in 10.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MARYLAND |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | POINTS | 77 |
| 26–54 (48%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 27–55 (49%) |
| 7–17 (41%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 10–26 (38%) |
| 12–17 (71%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 13–17 (75%) |
| 10 | TURNOVERS | 12 |
| 29 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 33 |
| 11 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 13 |
| 18 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 20 |
| 14 | BENCH POINTS | 20 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 5 |
| 1 | STEALS | 8 |
| 15 | ASSISTS | 17 |
A 7-0 run over the final 96 seconds of the first half put Maryland back out front 42-36 at intermission. That came after a quick spurt from Ohio State to retake the lead on a layup by Tate.
The junior forward led the Buckeyes with 13 points in the first half, getting to the line seven times and making five attempts. Ohio State used an 8-0 run to take an 18-15 lead at the under-12 timeout before Maryland answered with a 9-3 stretch to regain control.
The Terrapins made 7-of-16 shots from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. Forward Justin Jackson nailed his first three attempts, a carryover from his team's win Saturday at Minnesota when he went 5-of-5 from deep.
Trimble finished with 13 points, nearly half of them coming in the closing minutes as he took over. Anthony Cowan added 11 for Maryland. The Terrapins finished 10-of-26 from 3-point land and held a 14-8 advantage in second chance points. Additionally, every Maryland player that recorded playing time on Tuesday scored at least one point.
Ohio State heads to Michigan on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
