Terps Clinch No. 3 Seed with Thrilling Win on Senior Day

By Ethan Cadeaux

Saturday’s regular season finale marked Senior Day for the Maryland basketball team, but the Terrapins’ hero was a familiar face.

In what could be his final game at the Xfinity Center, junior point guard Melo Trimble hit a go-ahead three-pointer to break a 60-60 tie with 1.1 seconds left. Maryland held off a resilient Michigan State team en route to clinching the No. 3 seed and a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

“One more year” chants erupted in Xfinity as Trimble flexed his jersey one last time, showing the crowd the eight letters across his chest of the team that would head home victorious.

He lead the way for the Terps with 16 points and 6 assists. If this was his final game at Xfinity should Trimble declare for the NBA Draft, there was no better way he could have gone out.

“As a freshman, he was the straw that stirs the drink,” Spartans head coach Tom Izzo said on Trimble’s development. “Now he makes it, stirs and drinks it.”

Freshman Justin Jackson, who came off the bench in lieu of senior transfer graduate student L.G. Gill getting the start, added 15 points.

Senior Damonte Dodd, who has grown tremendously in his four years in College Park, finished with 7 points, 3 rebounds, and a block.

For the Spartans, it was a two-man wrecking crew. Freshmen Nick Ward and Miles Bridges carried the load with 22 and 18 points respectively. Ward also had a career day, totaling a season-high 16 rebounds. Nobody else on the Spartans had more than four points.

The contest was close the entire time. Both teams would trade jab for jab in the second half, but it was Trimble and the Terrapins who got the last laugh.
With the win, the Terrapins next opponent is unknown, as they have a double-bye in next weekend’s Big Ten tournament at the Verizon Center in Washington, D. C.,  just a short train ride away from College Park.