In a somewhat unexpected game for Maryland fans, the Terps found themselves in a tight matchup against a Rutgers team on a 12-straight losing streak. Dez Wells made sure that the off-night for Trimble didn’t come with a loss next to it in the scorebook. Wells took over the second half, scoring 6 straight and ended his outing with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
"It was another great win for us," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "It seemed Dez Wells put us on his back for the last 6, 7 minutes of the game. He had 10 points, made some shots, had the steal and a couple of free throws. He was really good."
"We just fought tooth and nail," Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan said. "But Dez Wells took over the game. That's what really, really good players do."
"I elevated my game and helped my guys out," said Wells. "For a while we could not hit a shot, so I just wanted to give the best shot for my team."
Maryland, on the verge of a number 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, only shot 38% from the field on Tuesday night. It’s a rough, but likely much needed win for them. Especially heading into tournament play, you want solid play leading up, but winning the games you shouldn’t brings some confidence to the team.
"The effort was there from the beginning," Mack said. "The guys came out with a lot of energy. It's amazing what we can do when we put the effort in. We just have to put the ball in the basket more."
Maryland will play Nebraska on Sunday and the Rutgers will play Michigan on Saturday.