UConn vs. Maryland: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Jimmy V Classic

No. 6 Maryland staved off a near-collapse Tuesday night, holding off UConn, 76-66, in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

The Terrapins (8-1) held a 65-51 lead with just over six minutes to go but saw their lead shrink to as little as three with less than three minutes remaining. 

Point guard Melo Trimble helped secure the victory with some big-time play, recording 25 points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals. Freshman center Diamond Stone provided his sophomore floor general with some assistance, coming off the bench to score 16 points and nine rebounds.            

UConn (5-3) scored the game's first two points, but that was the only lead it saw Tuesday. Maryland's offense was unstoppable, while its defense frustrated the Huskies. 

Early on, CBS Sports' Doug Gottlieb could tell UConn was going to have its hands full:   

"

This game is a mismatch. #Maryland

— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) December 9, 2015"

Stone was a force to be reckoned with down low as UConn couldn't provide any answers for him. ESPN's Jeff Borzello watched the freshman put together an impressive showing:

He and Trimble alone could have taken on UConn in the first half, as Campus Insiders pointed out:

The guard and center were teaming up pretty well, as SportsCenter showed:

"

Melo Trimble to Diamond Stone  https://t.co/jeBFQ3N0DL

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 9, 2015"

Maryland capitalized on the Huskies' eight first-half turnovers, taking a 16-point halftime lead. ESPN College BBall showed how vital those points off turnovers were:

"

Maryland is outscoring UConn 10-0 in points off turnovers. Terps leading this one at the half. pic.twitter.com/VeAXBtT0B2

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) December 9, 2015"

UConn came storming back in the second half, using a 9-2 run over a three-and-a-half-minute span to pull within nine with 13 minutes to go. But Maryland reopened another sizable lead that looked to put the game away. 

Trimble continued to facilitate the offense, impressing Dallas Mavericks guard Justin Anderson:

He also impressed CBS Sports' Sam Vecenie, who has seen Trimble's game turn a corner:   

But Maryland wasn't able to put UConn completely away, as the Huskies cut the deficit down to six thanks to a 15-5 run. SNY's Josh Newman seemed confused by the development:

A three-pointer from Daniel Hamilton, who led the Huskies with 23 points on the night, brought it within three following the under-four timeout. San Diego State recruit Jeremy Hemsley liked what he was seeing from Hamilton:

"

Daniel Hamilton is cold blooded

— Germ (@jeremy_hemsley) December 9, 2015"

But on the ensuing inbound play, the official called a technical foul on UConn head coach Kevin Ollie after the Huskies were called for a personal foul. It gave Maryland four consecutive free throws and elicited this reaction from Borzello:

Trimble hit three of them to restore a six-point lead for Maryland with 2:44 to go, giving his team enough real estate to hold on for the victory. 

It's a nervy win for the Terrapins against a quality opponent. It should help them get their first loss of the season, an 89-81 defeat at the hands of North Carolina on Dec. 1, out of their heads.

Seeing Trimble and Stone coexist in such a fluent manner should put the nation on alert that these two could be settling into a groove. The better they play, the harder it will be to stop this Maryland offense that has scored 75 points or more in eight of its first nine games.

Postgame Reaction

Discussion naturally turned to the critical technical foul during Ollie’s postgame press conference. Nicole Auerbach of USA Today passed along Ollie’s quote on the sequence and noted the Connecticut coach didn’t think it changed the momentum of the game: “The only thing I did was slap down, and the papers went flying.”

Ollie did point out that Trimble’s ability to make plays and shoot 15 free throws compared to the 12 the Huskies shot as a team played a role in the outcome, per Matt Ellentuck of SB Nation: “Melo Trimble had more foul shots than our team took. That's just being aggressive.”

Trimble was certainly aggressive, but it was hard to ignore the impact Ollie’s technical had on the momentum. One person who thought it proved to be important was Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon, per Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant: “The technical helped. ... We got one point out of it, but it helped us stem the tide a little bit.”

Stone's play off the bench also helped, and Turgeon commented on his big man’s outing, per Daniel Martin of CSN Mid-Atlantic: “UConn recruited him really hard, so he was fired up to play this game.”

If Stone and Trimble play like they did Tuesday for the rest of the season, Maryland will be right in the mix for a Final Four spot come March.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.