Maryland vs. Valparaiso: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

The No. 4 Maryland Terrapins avoided becoming a major upset victim Friday with a 65-62 escape of the No. 13 Valparaiso Crusaders in the 2015 NCAA tournament's second round. 

The Terrapins matched every Crusaders run with one of their own, in large part thanks to Melo Trimble's double-double performance with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Running mate Dez Wells shot 5-of-9 from the floor for 14 points.       

Valparaiso sophomore forward Alec Peters did everything he could in the nail-biter, shooting 4-of-7 from deep with a game-high 18 points.

Friday's war of contrasting styles saw the Crusaders enter as a team that won the rebounding battle 29 times this season, tied for most in the NCAA.

Despite this, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon seemed confident before the game that the size disparity wouldn't hurt his team, as captured by The Associated Press (via ESPN.com):

"

If they had a bunch of 6-foot guards running around, center at 6-5, shooting 3s, those are hard teams to guard. So I think it's a little bit of an advantage for us that they're this big. And their size is something that we see every day when we play.

"

Turgeon proved on the money in his analysis. Maryland's smaller lineup won the battle on the glass, 33-32, while the Crusaders shot 36.4 percent from the floor to the Terrapins' 46.3 percent.

The first half was sloppy as the two sides felt each other out. Maryland jumped to an 11-2 lead as the Crusaders started 1-of-9 from the field. By halftime, both teams shot a combined 20-of-55 from the field.

Going into the tunnel, Maryland freshman Jared Nickens was the hero in his team's 31-27 advantage, knocking down four attempts from deep. 

As Morgan Adsit of Fox Baltimore points out, few predicted Nickens, who averaged 5.8 points per game going into Friday, would play the hero:

Both teams looked more comfortable in the second half, although Maryland continued to struggle with Valparaiso's size. Jake Layman hit the bench with three fouls by the 15-minute mark (and fouled out late) and starting forward Damonte Dodd picked up his fourth and a technical after a block.

Daniel Martin of CSN Washington explained the importance:

Alas, Maryland persevered and pulled away from a 41-41 tie in large part thanks to the efforts of Trimble, who garnered lofty praise from former Valparaiso coach Homer Drew, per Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel:

Again, every time Valparaiso clawed its way back in—such as a tie game at 49-49—Trimble took things into his own hands.

Jeff Ermann of 247Sports broke down the scene late in Columbus, Ohio:

Martin weighed in on one of the key plays leading to Maryland's late pull-away:

When it mattered most with the Crusaders within one, Wells provided the dagger with 1:44 left. The senior skied for an offensive board, put it back up and hit the ensuing attempt from the charity stripe for a three-point play to make it 65-61.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello put it best:

Down 65-62 with 13.7 seconds left in regulation, Valparaiso came out of a timeout looking for the deep ball and didn't get a clean shot off, ending the thriller.

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein offered his thoughts on Maryland's late-game defense:

ESPN Stats & Info pointed out the wide-reaching implications of Maryland's escape:

As a result of the Terrapins' victory, they move on to the round of 32 for a head-to-head encounter with No. 5 West Virginia, a team ready for anything after a late three-pointer helped them escape No. 12 Buffalo.

Considering the Mountaineers are an experienced, explosive bunch led by senior point guard Juwan Staten, Maryland will need Trimble and Wells to put on another strong showing.     

For now, the Terrapins can take a brief pause and bask in trumping a team that gave them trouble every step of the way Friday.

Stats and info are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.