National Basketball Association
Maryland 62, American U. 56
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, November 11, 2016
Where: Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland
Officials:
# Andy O'Brien, # Ray Perone, # Lamont Simpson
Attendance:
17950
By The Sports Xchange
When American played at Maryland in 2007, the Eagles pulled off an upset against a team that was coached by Hall of Famer Gary Williams.
There was no such upset Friday night, but it was close. No. 25 Maryland trailed late in the second half before coming back to win 62-56 as junior guard Melo Trimble had 22 points and freshman guard Anthony Cowan added 12 at College Park, Md.
It was the first meeting between the neighboring schools since 2008, when Maryland won 67-51 behind Williams -- a former American head coach.
American "gained confidence as the game went on. I thought defensively their game plan was tremendous. They were hard to guard," said Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon.
Despite the close call, Turgeon was pleased.
"We figured out how to win. We slowed it down. We executed better and Kevin Huerter finally made a jump shot, a big one right in front of our bench and that allowed us to get separation, take a deep breath and relax," Turgeon said.
The upstart Eagles led 47-45 with 6:04 left, but Maryland came back to take a 52-49 lead with 3:48 left. American's Delonte Jones, who had 11 points, made a 3-pointer with 1:35 left to trim the margin to 57-54. But Cowan hit a free throw with 23 seconds left to make it 60-54 to seal the win.
American (0-1), from the Patriot League, was led in scoring by Mark Gasperini with 14 points and Sa'eed Nelson with 12.
The Terps shot 38.5 percent from the field but made 18 turnovers. Maryland (1-0) shot 25 free throws and American attempted just four. The Terps were 4 of 14 from 3-point range and the Eagles were 8 of 23.
Maryland led by just 31-25 at halftime as Trimble had 13 points and Cowan had eight.
Maryland was 27-9 last season and lost in the NCAA Tournament to Kansas. The Eagles were 12-19 overall last season and have not advanced to the NCAA Tournament since a 2014 loss to Wisconsin.
The two schools are less than 15 minutes apart.
"We rebounded great, we just have to play a little better offensively together," Turgeon said. "Gill had some big time rebounds, defended. I thought he was fresher. I think coming off the bench, watching a little bit first helped him, second-chance points, offensive rebounds. I know Melo is my best player but day-to-day I don't know (who else). The good thing is I have choices. In the end we figured it out."
NOTES: Maryland returns to action Tuesday when the Terps play at Georgetown, another District of Columbia school. ... The Eagles play Monday at Texas A&M and don't have a home game until Nov. 22 against Wagner. ... American has four players on its roster who were born overseas: F Leon Tolksdorf (Germany), F Andrija Matic (Serbia), G Laurynas Motuzis (Lithuania) and F/C Mark Gasperini (Russia). Motuzis went to high school in Illinois and Gasperini played in Massachusetts. ... American head coach Mike Brennan, a Princeton graduate and former Georgetown assistant, is in his fourth season at the helm.
Top Game Performances
| American U. |
|
Maryland |
|
Mark Gasperini 14 |
Scoring |
Melo Trimble 22 |
|
Charlie Jones 3 |
Assists |
Melo Trimble 4 |
|
Charlie Jones 6 |
Rebounds |
Anthony Cowan 9 |
|
Sa'eed Nelson 4 |
Free Throws Made |
L.G. Gill 7 |
|
Sa'eed Nelson 3 |
Steals |
Justin Jackson 2 |
|
Matt Cimino 2 |
Blocks |
L.G. Gill 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| American U.
|
56 |
42.3 |
8-23 |
4-5 |
11 |
21 |
5 |
8 |
12 |
| Maryland
|
62 |
38.5 |
4-14 |
18-25 |
7 |
41 |
2 |
3 |
19 |
For more information, contact us