COLUMBUS, Ohio — Varun Ram played 13 seconds of Maryland’s first NCAA tournament game since 2010 and with one timely swipe earned a place in history.
The former walk-on thwarted Valparaiso’s last shot attempt with a steal in the closing seconds to help Maryland hold off the determined Crusaders, 65-62, on Friday.
The fourth-seeded Terrapins (28-6) advanced to face West Virginia in Midwest Regional on Sunday.
Terrapins star senior Dez Wells made the biggest offensive play for Maryland, converting a three-point play off an offensive rebound with 1:44 left to make it 65-61. And Ram, the 5-foot-9 senior who had played 55 minutes coming into the game, did what he does best on the final possession, checking in for the first time with 13 seconds left.
“It’s a situation I’ve been in — obviously not in a game of this magnitude, but I’ve played defense for one possession before at the end of the halves or the end of games,” Ram said, unable to contain his smile as he stood in front of his locker.
The 13th-seeded Crusaders (28-6) were down three points with one last chance for coach Bryce Drew to draw up a winning play. He didn’t need a length-of-the-court pass as he did when he made the most famous shot in school history back in the 1998 tournament, but Valpo did need a 3-pointer.
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“Down three, we wanted a 3-pointer to extend it and take it to overtime,” said Alec Peters, who led Valpo with 18 points and was 4-for-7 from 3-point range. “They played great defense. I was supposed to pop back and take a three, but they guarded it well.”
Keith Carter went up for one in the corner, but Ram reached in and smacked the ball away — seemingly getting some of Carter’s arm in the process.
“I thought so,” Carter said.
Not Ram. “I think I got it clean,” he said.
Wells finished with 14 points for the Terrapins, who have won 13 games this season by six points or less.
“I guess it’s just the nature of our team,” Wells said. “And when it gets down to like the grit part of the game, we just find ways to win.”
Star freshman Melo Trimble had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Maryland.
The Terrapins were expected to be middle of the pack in their first season in the Big Ten, but instead finished second behind Wisconsin. They are now 11 wins better than last year.
E. Victor Nickerson dropped in a 3-pointer with 6:37 left to tie the game at 49-49 for Valpo and make Maryland call a timeout.
The Terrapins got the lead back with a couple of free throws, and then Trimble snagged a Valpo pass in the paint, broke quickly the other way and found Damonte Dodd for a layup to put the Terrapins up, 53-49, with 6:00 left.
But the Terrapins could never put away the Crusaders, who shot 12 for 27 from 3-point range.
Tevonn Walker, who scored 14 points, made one free throw with 1:00 left to cut it to 65-62, but Valpo couldn’t get its first NCAA tournament win since Drew’s buzz-beater against Mississippi sparked a surprising Sweet 16 run 17 years ago.
The 40-year-old Drew took the blame for the final play breaking down and never complained about the non-call by officials at the end.
“We tried to do something different than we usually run,” Drew said.
Jake Layman, Maryland’s third-leading scorer, managed only four points and took one shot in 25 minutes before fouling out.
Drew said it was easier to handle the excruciating losses when he was playing.
“You take it hard,” he said. “But a coach, you don’t sleep very well for a long time, so you second-guess everything you do as a coach. As a player, you go out and work harder in the gym, and so for a coach, I definitely think there’s more of that that sticks with you for a longer period of time.”
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