IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Despite blowing a 13-point second-half lead, No. 25 Maryland proved to be a legit Big Ten title contender Thursday night, clawing back in the closing minutes to defeat Iowa 84-76 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Terrapins (17-2, 5-1 Big Ten) took sole possession of first place in the conference.
Trailing 72-69, guard Melo Trimble stepped up in a huge way for Maryland, knocking down a pair of 3s that tied the game and then gave the Terrapins the lead back with 2:38 remaining. He said the main motivator for him was Maryland's lone loss in Big Ten play to Nebraska, where the Terrapins blew a 12-point lead, and not wanting a repeat of that to occur.
"I just wanted to win the game," Trimble said. "They came back on us and I was thinking about Nebraska, just thinking about not giving up big leads. We did that, but we were able to pull out the win."
Leading 77-74, Trimble hit a pair of free throws to put Maryland back up five and seal its second straight road victory. The junior finished with a game-high 20 points, including shooting 5 for 9 from behind the 3-point line.
"There's a huge belief system," Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said about his team. "It was great to see Melo play like that for us in the clutch. That's what he has done most of his career. He hadn't done that lately the last couple of games, but for him to step and do that was terrific."
The first half was completely controlled by Maryland from the opening tap. The Terrapins scored the first eight points and forward Damonte Dodd had six of Maryland's first 10 points before the 3-point shooting for both teams started to get going.
The Hawkeyes (11-9, 3-4) had a scoring drought of 5:15 during the first half. They also had a stretch where they missed 12 straight shots over a span of 8:20 before a dunk from guard Peter Jok got them within 10 points.
Maryland took a 41-32 lead into halftime and extended the advantage to 54-41 as Trimble drained a 3-pointer with 15:06 remaining. Then came a 10-0 Iowa run, with eight of the points coming courtesy of the Hawkeyes' bench. Iowa's reserves finished with 26 of the Hawkeyes' 76 points.
"I didn't think our effort at the beginning of the game matched their ability to move the ball and execute with our offense," Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. "Now as the half wore on, we got better obviously. So I wanted more of that."
A layup by Iowa forward Cordell Pemsl tied the game at 63, then the Hawkeyes took their first lead of the game with 5:18 left on an Ahmad Wagner free throw. The sophomore forward scored 10 of his 12 points during the Hawkeyes' second-half comeback.
"I was just trying to bring effort and energy to the team," Wagner said. "We were sluggish at the beginning, so I was just trying to come in and bring energy."
In addition to Trimble's efforts, Maryland also had four other players finish in double figures scoring. Guard Anthony Cowan recorded 15 points and a team-high six assists. Forward Justin Jackson scored 12 points, guard Jaylen Brantley had 10 and Dodd 10 before fouling out with 3:37 left.
Iowa received a 14-point outing from Jok, who shot 4 for 12 from the floor. Guard Jordan Bohannon finished with 11 points.
Maryland returns home to face Rutgers on Jan. 24, while Iowa travels to Illinois on Jan. 25.
NOTES:
-- Thursday's game marked the third meeting between the Terrapins and Hawkeyes since Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014. Maryland won the lone meeting last season 74-68 in College Park, Md.
-- Thursday marked the 24th anniversary of the passing of Iowa basketball legend Chris Street, who was killed in an accident during his junior season with the Hawkeyes. Iowa fell to 2-2 on this date under coach Fran McCaffery.
-- Scouts from the Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers were in attendance.
