COLUMBUS, Ohio _ Maryland junior guard Melo Trimble was having a tough game Tuesday at Value City Arena against Ohio State. He missed seven of his first eight shots and nine of his first 12. He turned the ball over five times.
Yet when it mattered, after the Buckeyes threatened to come back from double-digits and end Maryland's six-game winning streak, Trimble did what he has done for most of his career as a Terp.
With two big shots _ his first 3-pointer of the game with 2:02 left and a driving layup with 32 seconds left _ and two big free throws with 13.2 seconds left, Trimble helped No. 17 Maryland survive with a 77-71 victory.
Trimble finished with 13 points, but it was freshman forward Justin Jackson who again helped give the Terps their road swagger. Coming off a career-high 28-point performance against Minnesota, Jackson led Maryland (20-2, 8-1) with 22 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Junior forward Jae'Sean Tate had 20 points to lead Ohio State (13-10, 3-7).
The victory was the fifth straight Big Ten road win for the Terps.
Leading by six at halftime, the Terps pushed their lead to double digits on the first two possessions of the second half, with Huerter hitting senior center Damonte Dodd for a dunk and Jackson tipping in a miss by Trimble.
Trimble missed seven of his first eight shots before making back-to-back drives that extended the lead to 58-48. After Trimble's fifth turnover, Cowan replaced him after the under 12-minute timeout, with the Terps ahead by eight.
Cowan missed a straightaway 3-pointer and the Buckeyes cut their deficit back to six. A turnover by Cowan led to a 3-pointer by sophomore guard C.J. Jackson, prompting Turgeon to call timeout.
Trimble returned, as did Jackson and Huerter. After the teams traded empty possessions, they traded 3s. Dodd then made the first of two free throws to make the lead four for the Terps.
Junior center Michal Cekovsky, subbing in for Dodd, helped alter a shot at one end by Ohio State center Trevor Thompson, then beat Thompson down the court for a dunk off a feed from Trimble.
The Buckeyes wouldn't go away. Trailing by one with the ball, junior guard Kam Williams (Mount St. Joseph) drove the lane, but Dodd blocked him emphatically. It led to a breakaway dunk by Huerter with a little over three minutes left.
Jackson picked up where he left off Saturday at Minnesota. He made his first five shots, including three 3-pointers, to help the Terps get off to a better start against the Buckeyes than they did against the Golden Gophers.
After taking an early 15-10 lead on Jackson's second 3-pointer, Maryland cooled off and got a bit sloppy, specifically Trimble. Three straight turnovers, two by Trimble, allowed Ohio State to take its first lead, 16-15, on a layup Williams.
The lead changed seven times and the score was tied twice in the next 10 minutes. A 3-pointer by junior guard Jared Nickens, who also converted a four-point play two possessions early, pushed Maryland ahead 38-36.
A layup by freshman guard Anthony Cowan made it a four-point lead for the Terps. Tate, who led the Buckeyes with 13 points in the first half, missed the front end of a one-and-one with 35.4 seconds left.
Jackson finally missed in the closing seconds on a corner 3-pointer, but redshirt sophomore forward Ivan Bender got position on Tate and was fouled while grabbing an offensive rebound. He made both ends of a one-and-one with 2.9 seconds left to make it 42-36.
Maryland finished the first half shooting 14-of-30 from the field, including 7-of-16 on 3-pointers. Jackson had 13 points; Cowan added eight points and three assists. Trimble had just two points, with three assists and three turnovers.
For all the talk this season about the Terps being a terrific come-from-behind team in the second half, they have also been great front runners. Maryland went into Tuesday's game 12-0 when leading at halftime.
