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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- After shuffling players on and off the court all night, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon noticed that he had four freshmen in the game with the outcome hanging in the balance.I was like, `Dang, I must really believe in this group, Turgeon said. But the guys who finished the game I thought were playing the best.Melo Trimble scored 22 points, freshman Anthony Cowan added 12 and No. 25 Maryland used a late salvo to slip past American 62-56 on Friday night.After losing four starters from a squad that reached the Sweet 16, the Terrapins opened a new season with a decidedly new look. Turgeon has a 16-man roster containing nine freshmen, and he spent much of the game looking for the right combination.He expects the procedure to continue for quite a while.Were a definite work in progress, Turgeon said. But its exciting. I just think were going to be a heck of a team before its all said and done. Were just trying to figure it out.American led 47-43 with 7:34 remaining before Maryland finally played to form. Trimble -- the lone returning starter -- made two baskets in the lane to spark a 7-0 run.After Charlie Jones scored for the Eagles, L.G. Gill made two free throws and freshman Kevin Huerter buried a 3-pointer from the left side for a 55-49 lead.AU closed to 57-54 before Trimble made a driving layup with just over a minute left.Day to day, I dont know who my best players are, Turgeon said. I know Melos my best player but (beyond that), from day to day I dont know. The good thing is I have choices. In the end, we figured it out.Mark Gasperini scored 14 points for the Eagles, who finished 12-19 last season and are picked to finish in the middle of the Patriot League. On this night, however, AU gave Maryland all it could handle in a duel between Washington area teams.The Eagles were outrebounded 44-22 and outscored at the free throw line 18-4.Theyre a terrific team, and for us to be able to hang in there is an accomplishment, coach Mike Brennan said.Turgeon started two freshmen, Cowan and Huerter. The lone senior in the starting lineup was 6-foot-11 center Damonte Dodd, who had two fouls in his 2 minutes of playing time in the first half.Trimble had 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting to stake the Terrapins to a 31-25 halftime lead.Maryland led 16-11 before the Eagles got eight points from Leon Tolksdorf in a 12-2 run.After Turgeon called a timeout, the Terps rattled off 10 straight points. Cowan started the surge with a 3-pointer, two free throws and a three-point play.BIG PICTUREAmerican: Playing this well against a Big Ten contender should serve as confidence boost for the Eagles when they go up against Patriot League foes.Maryland: The youthful Terrapins got their season off to a rocky start. Turgeon got 10 players involved in the first half, putting a priority on spreading the minutes. Games like this should ultimately help him determine a rotation for the tougher matchups that loom ahead.POLL IMPLICATIONSMaryland should stay in the Top 25 through the weekend, but at this juncture Turgeon isnt too concerned.Just because people have got us ranked, we dont know who we are, he said. Its OK to have a tough game. And in the end were going to learn a lot more from it. Were going to be a better team because it was a close game.UP NEXTAmerican: Another road trip against strong opposition looms for the Eagles, who face Texas A&M on Monday night.Maryland: The Terrapins get an early season test Tuesday night against Georgetown at Verizon Center in Washington. Maryland squeezed past Hoyas 75-71 last season.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org Jordan Crawford Pelicans Jersey . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). Jrue Holiday Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. https://www.pelicanslockerroom.com/Jj-Redick-City-Edition-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Josh Hart Jersey . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Derrick Favors Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. A letter drafted by U.S. and Canadian anti-doping leaders urging Russias removal from the upcoming Olympics is circulating days before the public release of a report expected to detail a state-sponsored doping system that corrupted the countrys entire sports program.The letter, drafted last week and obtained by The Associated Press, is being prepared to be sent to the International Olympic Committees president and executive board after the Monday release of a report by investigator Richard McLaren.The letter calls for the IOC to act by July 26 to ensure that Russias Olympic Committee and sports federations will not be allowed in Rio de Janeiro, where the Games are set to start Aug. 5. The letter encourages exceptions for Russia-born athletes who can prove they were subject to strong anti-doping systems in other countries.A statement from Pat Hickey, the president of the European Olympic Committee, said the letter undermined the integrity and therefore the credibility of this important report.My concern is that there seems to have been an attempt to agree (on) an outcome before any evidence has been presented, Hickey said.USADA CEO Travis Tygart said the letter, which has backing from anti-doping agencies in a number of countries and athlete groups from around the world, was drafted with no intent for it to become public unless the McLaren report contains evidence of a major state-sponsored doping program.Of course, we want and hope for universal inclusion, but were not blind to the evidence already out there, Tygart said. And if were not preparing for all potential outcomes, then we are not fulfilling our promise to clean athletes.The McLaren report was sparked by a New York Times story that accused the Russian government of helping to manipulate tests at the Sochi Games so cheaters wouldnt get caught.Preliminary findings from the report, released last month, found mandatory state-directed manipulation of laboratory analytical results operating within the Moscow anti-doping lab from at least 2011 through the summer of 2013. Those findings also said Russias Ministry of Sport adviised the laboratory which of its adverse findings it could report to WADA, and which it had to cover up.ddddddddddddBased in part on that information, the letter to the IOC anticipates that the McLaren report will show the Russian government helped organize a systematic undermining of the drug testing of Russian athletes for many years in a successful effort to cheat to win.The AP also obtained a letter written by Beckie Scott, head of the athlete committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency, urging athletes to sign on to the U.S.-Canada letter. Scott informs athletes that, in addition to support from U.S. and Canadian anti-doping leaders Tygart and Paul Melia, the letter also has backing from anti-doping agencies in Germany, New Zealand, Japan, France, Denmark and Norway.Last week, IOC President Thomas Bach said it was important to strike the right balance between collective responsibility and individual justice in dealing with results from the McLaren report.It is obvious that you cannot sanction or punish a badminton player for infringement of rules or manipulation by an official or lab director in the Winter Games, Bach said.Already, tracks governing body, the IAAF, has suspended Russias track team from the Olympics after a separate investigation turned up evidence of a state-sponsored doping system used to benefit that team. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is expected to rule July 21 on the eligibility of 68 Russian athletes who have appealed to compete in Rio.McLaren was given permission to look into all Russian sports, and the letter being drafted for the IOC is written as if they all have been corrupted.We agree and believe a full suspension is the only available and appropriate result having regard to the findings and conclusions set out in the report, it said.In an interview on Tuesday, Tygart urged a full Russian ban, but said he had not seen the report in its entirety. He did not immediately respond to messages left by the AP on Saturday. ' ' '