No. 4 Maryland tops No. 13 Valparaiso 65-62
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Guards Dez Wells, Melo Trimble and Jared Nickens each scored 14 points, helping No. 4 seed Maryland hold off No. 13 seed Valparaiso 65-62 in an NCAA Midwest Regional second-round game on Friday at Nationwide Arena.
Maryland (27-6) advanced to face No. 5 seed West Virginia (24-9) in a third-round game on Sunday.
Forward Alec Peters scored 18 points and guard Tevonn Walker added 14 for Valparaiso (28-6), which went 12 of 27 from 3-point range, including four 3s by Peters.
The Crusaders had the ball trailing by three with 13.7 seconds left but couldn’t get off a shot.
Depth was key for Maryland, whose bench outscored Valparaiso’s reserves 25-10.
Valpo went scoreless for more than six minutes late in the first half, allowing Maryland to go on a 13-0 run, turning a six-point deficit into a 28-21 lead.
The Crusaders trailed just 31-27 at halftime, despite shooting just 29 percent from the field.
Valparaiso hung around by going 7 of 15 from 3-point range, including three from beyond the arc by Peters, who had nine first-half points.
Nickens led Maryland with 12 points in the half.
Trimble hit a 3-pointer falling backward to put the Terrapins ahead 36-29 early in the second half.
Valpo cut the deficit to five after Maryland forward Damonte Dodd was whistled for a technical foul. A free throw by Peters and two by forward David Skara made the score 39-34.
The Crusaders missed their first three 3-point attempts, but that skid didn’t last long.
Guard Victor Nickerson hit a long 3-pointer, bringing Valpo within four. A 3-pointer by guard Tevonn Walker cut the deficit to one.
The score was tied 41-41 when guard Dion Wiley hit a go-ahead 3-pointer for Maryland. And back and forth it went.
Every time it appeared the Terrapins were going to pull away, the Crusaders would hit another big shot.
Maryland led by six before Peters’ fourth 3-pointer made it a three-point game and Nickerson tied the score 49-49 with a 3-pointer with 6:31 left.
Wells assisted on a dunk by Dodd to put Maryland ahead 58-52. But back came Valpo.
A 3-pointer by Keith Carter, the guard’s first points, and a layup by forward Vashil Fernandez cut the Terrapins’ lead to one.
A three-point play by Wells put Maryland ahead 65-61 with 1:44 left.
NOTES: Valparaiso made its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance but its first since coach Bryce Drew hit his famous buzzer-beater to lift the 13th-seeded Crusaders over fourth-seeded Mississippi in 1998. Valpo reached the Sweet 16 that year. … Terrapins freshman G Melo Trimble has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season, including 31 against Arizona State on Nov. 24. He ranked fifth in the Big Ten in scoring. … Maryland made its 25th NCAA Tournament appearance and its first since 2010. … The teams met once before, an 82-60 victory by the Terrapins in 1999.