West Virginia muscles past Maryland into Sweet 16
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the final minute, just before he sealed West Virginia's trip to the Sweet 16 with a free throw, Mountaineers guard Gary Browne started the celebration by turning toward the stands, slamming his fist into his chest, and screaming:
"Let's go!"
But the more telling scene was a few feet behind Browne, at the end of the Maryland bench. Three guys in suits sat between Melo Trimble and his nearest teammate. The freshman guard — the Terrapins' most important player all season, but especially Sunday — sat quietly, hands folded in front of his face, barely watching.
He'd missed the last 8:25 after he was accidentally kicked in the head by a teammate.
With the 69-59 victory at Nationwide Arena, the No. 5 Mountaineers are headed to Cleveland for the Midwest regional, where they'll face top seed Kentucky on Thursday.
BRACKET HUB: West Virginia 69, Maryland 59
They're going in part because of their relentless defense. But the game might have turned for good when two teammates collided.
Maryland forward Damonte Dodd's knee slammed into Trimble as the precocious freshman fell to the ground during a West Virginia fast break.
West Virginia's full-court pressure forced 23 turnovers by Maryland, almost double its season average. The Mountaineers come at you in wave after wave, pressure followed by more pressure, and then some more. The goal is to speed you up, and often to turn you over. Sometimes, they rough you up, grabbing and stripping and holding.
There aren't any apologies coming for it, either. And their style should make for an intriguing matchup against Kentucky.
Though sophomore forward Devin Williams led West Virginia with 16 points and 10 rebounds, the catalysts as usual were the guards, who wreaked havoc on one end and scored from all angles on the other. Browne had 14 points. Daxter Miles Jr. added 12. And Jevon Carter, who'd missed his first six shots, hit a dagger 3-pointer with 4:18 left to stretch the lead to eight points; the Terrapins never got closer than six the rest of the way.
Like it had most of the season, Trimble's poised game at point guard kept Maryland in it. He had 15 points, hitting five of six shots, and seven rebounds. But when he went down, the Terrapins were out.
First, there was the shoulder-first screen set — thrown, really — by West Virginia's 6-9, 235-pound forward Nathan Adrian on Trimble five minutes into the second half. It left Trimble on the ground in pain; officials reviewed the play but took no action.
His importance was demonstrated when the Terrapins committed a turnover on the next possession. He quickly re-entered the game. But not quite seven minutes later, he went down again, this time after he collided with Dodd.
The injury was initially described by a Maryland spokesman as a head injury. He spent the first few moments with his head buried in his arms, and never left a seat at the end of the Terrapins' bench until the final buzzer.
Already teetering, the Terps couldn't handle the Mountaineers pressure without him. They committed four quick turnovers during a crucial stretch just after he left the game, and as the pace zoomed to helter-skelter, they couldn't catch up.