By Krista Bliumentalis

After the Arizona Sun Devils opened the match by scoring the game’s first seven points, the Terps responded by cutting down their lead and turning the game into a back and forth battle. When the game was down to the final minutes of play, Dez Wells made a crucial basket that gave Maryland a two-point lead that helped clinch the 78-73 win for the Terps.

The dynamic duo of Melo Trimble and Wells helped keep the Terps neck and neck with the Sun Devils. Trimble left the first half with 18 points and carried that momentum into the second half. Trimble finished the game with 31 points that came from strong layups and foul shots. By scoring 31 points, Trimble fell two points short of setting the freshman record for most points scored in a game.

When Trimble began to lose his shooting momentum, Wells came and scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, making key shots to give the Terps the lead. The duo then combined at the end of the game by scoring six straight points to cap off the win.

The Terps had difficulties defending Arizona State’s strong shooters. Jon Gilling finished the game for the Sun Devils with seven 3-pointers and a total of 21 points. Arizona State relied on their 3-pointers for a majority of the game, especially when Bo Barnes’ hit two of his five 3-pointers in the final minutes, which gave them a 71-69 lead with two minutes left on the clock.

This game was a key victory to for the Terps and proved that they can compete against strong teams. This win also improves the Terps record to 4-0 and advances them to the CBE Classic semifinals where they will face No.13 Iowa State.