BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Senior All-American candidate Melo Trimble’s driving lay-up with 6.6 seconds capped a furious comeback by No. 23 Maryland in the final 25 seconds, as the Terrapins rallied past Kansas State, 69-68, for the Barclays Center Classic Championship before 5,011 fans at the Barclays Center on Saturday night.
Trimble, who finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-11 field goals, scored the last six points for the unbeaten Terrapins (7-0), including the game’s final four points. He also had eight of the team’s last 10 points.
The loss spoiled an incredible effort from senior forward D.J. Johnson, who poured in a career-high 26 points on 10-of-18 field goals to go with eight rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes. Fellow senior Wesley Iwundu was also impressive in the contest, collecting his sixth career double-double with a 16 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. Sophomores Barry Brown and Kamau Stokes registered double-digits with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Wildcats (5-1) led 68-65 with 1:35 to play after a lay-up from Johnson and had possession of the ball twice down the stretch, including with 54 seconds left after Johnson corralled his sixth offensive rebound. However, an errant inbound pass by Stokes was stolen by Trimble and converted into a lay-up after a Maryland timeout to cut the gap to 68-67 with 21 seconds. Iwundu was fouled with 14 seconds, but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 from the free throw line to set up the final sequence.
For the second consecutive game, K-State got its offense going in the second half after a slow first half, as the team connected on 55.6 percent (15-of-27) of its field goals, including 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from 3-point range. For the game, the Wildcats shot 45 percent (27-of-60), including 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from beyond the arc. The Terrapins were slightly better, knocking down 45.5 percent (25-of-55) and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from long range.
Brown and Johnson were both named to the Barclays Center Classic All-Tournament team.
The Basics
- Final Score: rv/23 Maryland 69, Kansas State 68
- Records: Kansas State 5-1, 0-0 Big 12 // Maryland 7-0, 0-0 Big Ten
Tom Gilbert – Associate Director for Athletic Communications – K-State Athletics