No. 12 Maryland tops Michigan St 68-66 in 2 OT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) Maryland didn't make a lot of jump shots, but a game-saving 3 by Dez Wells and a procession to the foul line were enough to beat Michigan State 68-66 in double-overtime in the Terrapins' first-ever Big Ten game.

Melo Trimble, just 2-for-13 from the field, had 17 points and Wells 16 for the No. 12 Terrapins, which used its size advantage for a 52-36 edge on the boards Tuesday night.

''Obviously, it was a great win for us,'' Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. ''I'm not sure how we did it, to be honest with you. Transition defense, we did that. And we probably rebounded the best we have all year.''

Travis Trice scored 26 points, but was 7-for-26 from the field, for the Spartans (9-5, 0-1), who had just one double-figure scorer in 50 minutes.

The Terrapins' other big edge was making 26-for-32 from the foul line, all in the second half, while Michigan State missed great chances at the end of regulation and the first overtime.

''I'm very disappointed,'' Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. ''For them to have zero free throws at the half and end up with 32 is a joke.''

Neither team shot the ball well from the field or from 3-point range, a surprise after their pre-conference showings. Maryland shot 33 percent from the field, including 18 percent beyond the arc. The Spartans made just 32 percent from the field.

Michigan State led 48-45 and had a chance to foul in the closing seconds. Izzo chose not to do that, and his team paid the price two overtimes later.

''It was my choice not to foul at the end of the game,'' he said. ''Maybe I'll change, but I haven't done that for 20 years. We've done OK.''

The Spartans have been to six Final Fours since 1999, the most of any team in the country. But that didn't help when Trimble and Wells kept attacking the basket and going to the line.

''Nobody has guarded us as well as he did,'' Turgeon said. ''Finally, we figured it out. We couldn't make a jump shot, so we spread it out and went to the basket. Melo is good at drawing fouls.''

Izzo said Maryland is a very good team, but he didn't like the way either team played, especially his own.

''I don't think we've ever been outrebounded 52-36 in the history of me,'' he said. ''I thought both teams were bad offensively, but they drove it down our throat.''

That wouldn't have mattered without Wells' lean-in 3, just the Terrapins' third basket from behind the arc, before Michigan State standout Denzel Valentine hit the back of the rim from near midcourt before fouling out with four points.

''Valentine was in foul trouble, and we just don't have the bodies right now,'' Izzo said. ''They kept rolling guys in and had 10 guys play 10 minutes or more.

Branden Dawson, back after missing two games with a fractured wrist, had nine points and 11 rebounds but was 1 for 5 at the line and grew weary playing 43 minutes.

''Dawson wasn't himself, playing with a cast on, and couldn't dribble at all.'' Turgeon said. ''He had some turnovers because of it. But it was a gutty win for us.''

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

''It was the touchy, feely stuff,'' Izzo said. ''The coaches said, `Let's play like a fourth-grade gym class,' and they got what they wanted, a free throw contest. They were better than we were at it.''

TIP-INS

Maryland: The Terrapins earned their highest ranking in the polls since 2004 by going 6-1 with Wells out with a broken right wrist. Before and after that injury on Nov. 25, Maryland is 7-0.

Michigan State: Izzo's record dropped to (17-3) in Big Ten home openers. Despite lowering its Big Ten-best 28-percent yield from long range, one make by Wells made the difference.

UP NEXT

Maryland hosts Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.

Michigan State hosts Indiana next Monday night.