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Again, it came down to a long, 3-point shot to decide a game for the Maryland men’s basketball team. This time, Melo Trimble was nowhere to be found, which summed up a surprising subpar performance in a 70-67 defeat to Michigan on Tuesday at the Crisler Center.

Despite the sophomore point guard struggling to get into a flow after picking up two quick fouls in the first half, despite his teammates having trouble identifying Michigan’s 3-point shooters for all but an eight-minute stretch in the second half, it came down to a 3-point shot by senior guard Rasheed Sulaimon.

Sulaimon, who had overcome his own off-night (3-for-10 overall) by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers as Maryland climbed out of a 13-point hole in the second half, missed from the right wing with three seconds left in the game.

The defeat broke a nine-game winning streak for Maryland (15-2, 4-1 Big Ten). It was only Maryland’s second loss since joining the Big Ten Conference in 17 games decided by six points or fewer. It was the first loss for the Terps since an eight-point defeat at North Carolina on Dec. 1.

“We had a play called, and we got a good look. We really did,” Terps coach Mark Turgeon said of Sulaimon’s 23-footer, which hit the back rim and bounced away. “You need a 3. It’s hard to make a 3. We got the [center] switched onto him. It hit back rim and looked good from where I was.”

Said senior forward Jake Layman, who hit three of his five 3-point shots and seven of 10 shots overall to finish with 18 points: “We got the switch we wanted. Two of the right guys taking that shot, it was either Melo or Sheed taking that shot. I thought it was good when it went up.”

Maryland was forced into taking another last-second 3-pointer after failing to control the offensive rebound on a missed shot by Michigan point guard Derrick Walton Jr. Terps center Diamond Stone, who had led his team’s comeback, said he went up to block Walton, leaving center Mark Donnal to get the rebound.

“Just bad defense,” said Layman, who also had 10 rebounds. “No box out on the big guy.”

Donnal made the front end of a one-and-one with 14.6 seconds left to increase the lead to three, but the second free throw spun out and gave the Terps a chance to do what the Badgers nearly did to them at the Kohl Center before Trimble’s 27-foot shot gave Maryland a 63-60 victory.

Sulaimon, who hit a long 3-pointer against Syracuse in overtime two years ago at Duke after beating Virginia with a last-second 3-pointer, had the ball the whole time while the Wolverines paid closer attention to Trimble and Robert Carter Jr., who had hit a long corner 3 in the first half.

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“It would have been better if we got the rebound before that and didn’t have to foul him, but we didn’t,” Turgeon said of the final sequence that began with not controlling one last rebound on a night when Maryland held a 36-27 edge. “We lost the game way before that. We had some possessions that we came up empty.”

It was nearly an empty night for Trimble, who collected his second personal foul with 9:30 remaining in the first half, returned briefly later in the half but “totally lost his rhythm,” according to Turgeon. Trimble, whose shot with 1.2 seconds to go at Wisconsin capped a 21-point performance and helped the Terps to their best start in school history, finished with two points on 1-for-7 shooting against Michigan (13-4, 3-1).

“It was the first time all year he’s been in foul trouble. We’re kind of looking around like … we totally rely on Melo,” Turgeon said. “He’s carried us, but he totally lost his rhythm tonight. It was hard.

“I thought Varun [Ram] was terrific for us. He really helped us guard. I thought Jake Layman was terrific. He guarded, he rebounded, he made shots for us. Some nights are not meant to be, and this was one of them.”

Despite missing 18 of 24 3-point shots and going to the foul line just 11 times — making nine, with Stone shooting eight of nine — the Terps nearly pulled out another comeback win, something they have made a habit of doing since joining the Big Ten.

Led by Stone, who finished with a team-high 22 points –- 19 in the second half — and 11 rebounds, as well Layman and Carter (15 points), Maryland led 57-56 on a three-point play by Stone with 6:48 to play.

Michigan immediately recaptured the lead on a three-point play by Donnal, then stretched it out to as many as eight, 67-59, on sophomore forward Duncan Robinson’s only two-point basket of the game and back-to-back 3-pointers by Walton and junior forward Zak Irvin, who led the Wolverines with 22 points.

Michigan finished 12-for-29 on 3-pointers, including 5-for-9 by Robinson. A Division III transfer, Robinson scored 17, including 12 in the first half. Walton finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines, playing their third straight game without their leading scorer, Caris LeVert, because of a lower leg injury.

“I want to give Michigan a lot of credit tonight. I thought they were great. They came out hot and made a lot of shots,” Turgeon said. “Zak Irvin was terrific. We couldn’t guard him. … We made a run at them and got back in the game. They made big shots. They deserved to win the basketball game.”

Layman said he thought Maryland lost the game almost from the start, when the Wolverines came out firing – and making – 3-point shots.

“I think we gave them confidence in the first half, we let them get too many open 3s,” Layman said. “In the second half, we played a little better on defense, we contested a lot more shots. They hit some tough shots down the stretch, got to give them credit.”

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