West Virginia going to Sweet 16 after 69-59 defeat of Maryland
West Virginia 69, Maryland 59: Devin Williams posted 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Mountaineers knocked off the Terrapins in Columbus, Ohio to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Gary Browne added 14 points while Daxter Miles Jr. and Jonathan Holton chipped in 12 apiece to lift No. 5 seed West Virginia (25-9) into a regional semifinal matchup with top-seeded and undefeated powerhouse Kentucky. Jevon Carter had six steals and Browne notched five as the Mountaineers forced 23 turnovers.
Maryland star freshman Melo Trimble left with a head injury with 8:25 remaining after scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Jake Layman added 10 points for the fourth-seeded Terps (28-7), who have not been to the Sweet 16 since 2003.
West Virginia led 35-34 at halftime and still sat one point ahead of Maryland after Terps guard Dez Wells scored on back-to-back possessions with 11 1/2 minutes left. Williams and Tarik Phillip made layups - each bucket off an offensive rebound - and Miles added a pair of baskets to push the advantage to 55-46 with just over seven minutes to play.
The key play in that stretch came when Trimble was inadvertently kneed in the head by teammate Damonte Dodd, leaving the Terrapins without a natural ball-handler down the stretch. Carter made a huge 3-pointer to create an eight-point spread with 4:18 left and Browne added five points in the final three minutes to help wrap it up.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Trimble led all scorers with 12 first-half points. Williams had 10 points in the opening period for West Virginia, which shot 36.4 percent in the first half, compared to 54.5 percent for Maryland. … In its last 12 games, West Virginia is 7-0 when holding its opponent below 76 points and 0-5 when giving up 77 or more. … The Mountaineers last reached the Sweet 16 in 2010, when they went on to upset top-seeded Kentucky in the Elite Eight.
