West Lafayette, IN – The twentieth ranked Purdue Boilermakers upset the tenth ranked Maryland Terrapins 83 to 79 in a thriller. Purdue controlled the majority of the game leading by as many as sixteen in the first half. Down by ten with just over four minutes remaining Maryland switched to a full court press and mounted a comeback, tying the game with 2:12 remaining. After allowing the Terrapins to climb back in the game the Boilermakers broke the press when they needed it most leading to the go ahead points needed to win the game.
The Boilermakers were powered by their senior center AJ Hammons’ nineteen points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Six of those nineteen points came from the three point line, where Hammons showed his capability to knock down shots from long stance. Hammons was limited to eight minutes in the first half due to early foul trouble; however he finished the game only picking up one additional foul. Hammons has done a much better job this season overcoming adversity in games, something that has been an issue at times in his career.
Another major contributor for Boilermakers was sophomore guard Dakota Mathias. Mathias put together arguably his best performance of the season off the bench tying a season high seventeen points and four assists. Mathias displayed his great shooting stroke going 3-for-6 from the three point line and 7-for-10 from the field overall.
The Terrapins were led by sophomore guard Melo Trimble’s nineteen points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals. While he struggled from the field today shooting only 4-for-12. Trimble is a crafty ball handling lead guard with great scoring capability with or without the basketball. He has a great first step and utilizes a good ability to change speeds to attack his man often drawing contact and getting to the line. This was on full display today as Trimble earned ten free throw attempts today, converting nine of them. On the defensive end Trimble struggles at times to move his feet, however, he displays great anticipation in the passing lanes waiting to take advantage of a lazy pass.
Highly touted freshman center Diamond Stone contributed eighteen points for the Terrapins but only managed five rebounds. Stone looked fatigued at times having to battle Purdue’s front court all day. Stone also has the capability of shooting the ball with a good stroke from mid-range, however he lacks a true post game and relies heavily on put backs and dump offs around the basket. On the defensive end Stone has good timing and anticipation as a weak side shot blocker. He does, however, look to lack lateral burst displaying only one speed on the floor.
With the loss Maryland falls all but out of Big Ten title contention falling two games behind conference leader Indiana. The Terrapins are back in action Thursday as they host Illinois. The Boilermakers look to continue their winning ways Tuesday at Nebraska.
This article was written by Nick Hinojosa, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can subscribe to our RSS feed from the upper right corner of our home page, follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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