National Basketball Association
Maryland 84, Illinois 59
When: 5:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Where: Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland
Officials:
# Mike Eades, # Terry Oglesby, # Paul Szelc
Attendance:
17950
By The Sports Xchange
Melo Trimble scored 11 of his 20 points in the second half and reserve Jaylen Brantley added 13 points as Maryland posted an 84-59 victory over Illinois on Tuesday in the Big Ten opener for both teams at the Xfinity Center in College Park, Md.
Freshman guard Anthony Cowan and freshman forward Justin Jackson had 12 points apiece for the Terps, who also crushed Illinois at home last season, 81-55, after losing the previous three games in the series.
Maryland (13-1) won its sixth straight game as it shot 55 percent in the first half and 57 overall. Illinois made just 8 of 30 shots (26.7 percent) in the first half, including 1 of 10 from three-point range, while committing nine turnovers.
Illinois (10-4) was paced by senior guard Malcolm Hill, who had 12 of his 21 points in the first half. Center Mike Thorne Jr. had 10 points for the visitors. Illinois was 4 of 21 from 3-point range in the game.
The Terps, who led by 16 at halftime, built the margin to 52-33 with 14:45 left in the game on a basket and free throw by Trimble, who had six turnovers. Cowan had a layup to give Maryland a 56-33 advantage, and a 3-pointer by Brantley made it 65-36 with under 10:00 left as the Terps cruised.
Jackson made a drive and left-handed layup with 7:33 left in the first half to give Maryland a lead of 27-10. The Terps led 39-23 at halftime as Hill scored more than half of his team's points.
Maryland sophomore forward Ivan Bender made his fourth start of the year and had seven points.
Damonte Dodd, a junior forward for the Terps, missed his fifth game in a row and seventh overall as he deals with an MCL sprain in his left knee. He last played against Oklahoma State and scored 12 points in 24 minutes on Dec. 3. Dodd has played in seven games, with six starts.
Maryland junior forward Michal Cekovsky also missed the game with a left ankle injury. He scored 25 points in the previous two games and is averaging 17.6 minutes and 10 points per game in nine outings, with four starts.
Sophomore guard Dion Wiley of Maryland had nine points Tuesday after he missed the previous contest with a sprained wrist. Maryland returns to action at home Sunday against Nebraska at noon while Illinois hosts Ohio State, also on Sunday.
Top Game Performances
| Illinois |
|
Maryland |
|
Malcolm Hill 21 |
Scoring |
Melo Trimble 20 |
|
Tracy Abrams 2 |
Assists |
Anthony Cowan 6 |
|
Malcolm Hill 7 |
Rebounds |
L.G. Gill 7 |
|
Malcolm Hill 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Melo Trimble 5 |
|
Tracy Abrams 1 |
Steals |
Anthony Cowan 3 |
|
N/A |
Blocks |
Justin Jackson 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Illinois
|
59 |
35.6 |
4-22 |
13-19 |
9 |
32 |
0 |
5 |
17 |
| Maryland
|
84 |
55.9 |
7-21 |
11-18 |
16 |
33 |
4 |
7 |
14 |
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