With the game tied and about 20 seconds left on the clock, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon made the simplest play call he could make: give the ball to Melo Trimble and get out of the way.
The dynamic guard hit a long, straightaway 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to lift the third-ranked Terrapins to a 63-60 win over Wisconsin on Saturday. The win gave Maryland its best start in program history at 15-1.
"Yeah, it's not a lot of coaching," Turgeon said. "He's special. ... Just get out of his way."
Trimble finished with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting in a game in which the Terrapins (15-1, 4-0 Big Ten) lost an eight-point lead with about seven minutes to go.
He saved his biggest shot for the end.
The sophomore let the shot clock wind down with Zak Showalter guarding him tightly for the Badgers (9-8, 1-3). Showalter had a hand up when Trimble let loose the winning shot.
Trimble swaggered as he backpedaled after the bucket stunned the Kohl Center crowd.
"I knew that the best shot was for for me to get to the rim," Trimble said.
The 3 worked, too.
Nothing more really that Wisconsin could do defensively in that situation.
"Well, get him to miss it," Badgers interim coach Greg Gard said. "With the way they spread the floor, I knew what they were trying to do."
Set up well beyond the 3-point arc, Showalter ran the risk of Trimble running by him if he had played him tighter. A foul would have sent Trimble to the line, where he is hitting 87 percent for the year.
A double-team would have left another Terp open.
So Trimble hit a deep shot that he said he's practiced many times before. Showalter bent over at the hips, his head down in disappointment.
Robert Carter Jr. added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Maryland. Diamond Stone had 11 points in his return to the state of Wisconsin.
Maryland travels to Michigan for a matchup with the Wolverines on Tuesday at 9 p.m.
