COLUMBUS, OH – 4th-seeded Maryland continued Friday’s theme of “chalk” surviving an upset by a double-digit seed in a tight contest, as they held on to defeat 13th-seeded Valparaiso 65-62.
Dez Wells extended the Terrapins’ lead to two possessions with a gritty three-point play with 1:44 to play. Then an unlikely hero stepped up for the Terps on the defensive end, as little-used guard, Varun Ram–in his only minute of playing time–stripped the ball free from Keith Carter as the Crusdader was attempting a game-tying three-pointer in the game’s final seconds.
Freshman point guard, Melo Trimble, methodically steered the Terps with fourteen points and an impressive ten rebounds.
Sophomore forward Alec Peters carried the Crusaders with eighteen points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc.
Maryland will next square off with their border-rivals, the 5th-seeded West Virginia Mountainers, in a third-round affair on Sunday.
Dave Sims and Jim Jackson called the action on Westwood One Sports.
