21st-ranked Terps tangle with Eagles

Dec 6, 2014 - 3:52 PM College Park, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - The 21st-ranked Maryland Terrapins continue their season-long six-game homestand on Saturday afternoon, as they welcome the Winthrop Eagles to the XFINITY Center for non-conference action.

Winthrop has had an uneven start to the season by splitting its six games right down the middle. The Eagles are on the downswing of late with losses in three of their last four, most recently falling at Jacksonville State in overtime on Wednesday, 79-76.

Maryland surged into the Top-25 following an outstanding 7-0 start, which was highlighted by a win over nationally-ranked Iowa State in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic title game on Nov. 25 (72-63). The Terps' perfect season came to an end at home on Wednesday night however, losing to former ACC rival Virginia, 76-65.

The Terps have beaten the Eagles in all four previous meetings.

The Eagles overcame a double-digit second-half deficit their last time out to force overtime in the final minute of regulation, but with the game tied and the extra session winding down, they fell victim to a last-second Jacksonville State 3-pointer to drop the heartbreaking decision. The Eagles shot 49 percent from the field, including 8-of-16 from 3-point range, but they were ultimately done in by a game-high 15 turnovers. Keon Johnson led the way with 22 points off the bench, shooting 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. Jarad Scott netted 15 points and Tevin Prescott tallied a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

On the season, Winthrop is reliant on the 3-pointer, as it drains nearly nine long-range buckets per game at a 37.9 percent clip, and its success from deep has resulted in a solid scoring offense of 70.8 ppg. Keon Moore has connected on 22-of-44 from beyond the arc en route to a team-best 16.8 ppg. Andre Smith (10.7 ppg) shoots less than 34 percent from the field but helps make up for it with 5.8 apg.

In a battle of unbeaten teams earlier in the week, Maryland fell behind Virginia by eight at intermission and never got closer than six the rest of the game. It was outshot from the field, 53.1 percent to 40 percent, and it lost out on a number of possessions by losing the rebounding battle, 34-22. Melo Trimble was just 2-of-9 from the field but made 12-of-14 free-throw tries on his way to 16 points. Jake Layman netted 14 points, Dion Wiley scored 12 off the bench and Richaud Pack added 11 points.

The Terps' most recent performance was an anomaly, as they shoot a lofty 48.5 percent from the field this season for 76.5 ppg, while allowing just 62.5 ppg on 37 percent shooting. The squad will be shorthanded for the next few weeks with Dez Wells (16.2 ppg) sidelined with a wrist injury. In Wells' absence, Trimble has shouldered an even larger portion of the scoring load with 16.5 ppg, doing so with great percentages from the field (.477), 3-point range (.441) and the foul line (.887). Layman is also an integral piece to Maryland's success with 14.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg.