National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Maryland 65, Valparaiso 62
When: 4:40 PM ET, Friday, March 20, 2015
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Officials: # Brian Dorsey, # Tommy Nunez Jr., # Vladimir Voyard-Tadal
Attendance: 18417

Maryland 65, Valparaiso 62: Melo Trimble scored 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Terrapins survived a scare from the Crusaders in the NCAA Tournament round of 64 in Columbus, Ohio.

Dez Wells also added 14 points for fourth-seeded Maryland (28-6), which made its last eight free throws to finish 18-of-24. Jared Nickens matched a career high with four 3-pointers en route to 14 points off the bench for the Terrapins, who play fifth-seeded West Virginia in Sunday's round of 32.

Alec Peters led the way with a game-high 18 points for 13th-seeded Valparaiso (28-6), which couldn't overcome a 10-of-18 performance from the foul line. Tevonn Walker tallied 14 points and E. Victor Nickerson had eight before fouling out with 5:29 to go for the Crusaders, who went 12-of-27 from 3-point range.

Trimble connected from beyond the arc and Evan Smotrycz finished at the rim to put Maryland in front 49-43 before Peters and Nickerson buried back-to-back 3-pointers to even the score with 6:41 remaining. Wells converted a three-point play to give the Terrapins a 65-61 advantage, but they could only breathe a sigh of relief when Keith Carter lost the ball in midair as he attempted a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the dying seconds.

Peters and Darien Walker each drained two 3-pointers during a 19-4 surge as Valparaiso jumped ahead 21-15 before Trimble sparked a 13-0 run to put Maryland on top by seven. Nickens knocked down four of the Terrapins' six 3-pointers in the first half as they held the Crusaders to 29.4 percent shooting to take a 31-27 lead at intermission.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Maryland's bench outscored Valparaiso's reserves 25-10. …Terrapins F Damonte Dodd was assessed a technical foul for arguing with the officials in the second half. … Wells has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games.
Top Game Performances
 
Valparaiso   Maryland
Alec Peters 18 Scoring Jared Nickens 14
Keith Carter 5 Assists Melo Trimble 3
Vashil Fernandez 6 Rebounds Melo Trimble 10
Tevonn Walker 3 Free Throws Made Melo Trimble 5
E. Victor Nickerson 2 Steals Evan Smotrycz 2
Darien Walker 1 Blocks Damonte Dodd 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Valparaiso 62 35.7 12-27 10-18 12 27 1 5 8
Maryland 65 47.5 9-21 18-24 9 30 5 5 11