If Saturday’s victory over Michigan State turns out to be Melo Trimble’s last home game at Maryland, then it sure was a fitting finale.
The star guard with a knack for late-game magic added one more clutch shot to his lengthy resume.
There was no doubt where the ball was going when Maryland inbounded it under its own hoop with the score tied and 6.3 seconds left in regulation. Trimble raced up the court and buried a pull-up 25 footer with less than a second to go, securing a 63-60 Maryland victory with major postseason implications for both teams.
For Maryland, the victory halts a late-season slide and clinches a top-three finish in the Big Ten for the third consecutive season. The Terps will be the No. 3 seed in next week’s Big Ten tournament behind Purdue and either Minnesota or Wisconsin.
For Michigan State, the loss casts some doubt on whether the Spartans can extend Tom Izzo’s streak of 19 consecutive NCAA tournament bids. Michigan State (18-13, 10-8) entered as a 9 or 10 seed in most mock brackets, but the Spartans could be in some jeopardy with two straight losses to end the regular season and an early exit in next week’s conference tournament.
Saturday’s loss will be especially frustrating for Michigan State because the Spartans had a golden opportunity to take a late lead.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="When Kenny Goins found Nick Ward wide open underneath the basket on Michigan State’s final possession at Maryland on Saturday night afternoon, it appeared the Spartans would be in position to pick up a huge road win.” data-reactid=”24″>When Kenny Goins found Nick Ward wide open underneath the basket on Michigan State’s final possession at Maryland on Saturday night afternoon, it appeared the Spartans would be in position to pick up a huge road win.
What happened next didn’t go as planned.
First Ward first fumbled the pass out of bounds. Then, like so many other teams have before, Michigan State got Melo’d.
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