A catastrophic collapse

It was supposed to be a triumphant and festive night, one that celebrated the careers of the Terrapin men's basketball seniors, most notably James Gist and Bambale Osby.

But when it was all said and done, it turned into a night that both will quickly want to forget. Of Gist's 70 games at Comcast Center, last night's 73-70 loss was unlike any other he had experienced. And Osby has been fighting an illness, but this, he said, is a game that will make him lose sleep.

Up 20 points with 10:53 remaining, the Terps choked.

Clemson ended the game on a 34-11 run, which included an improbable game-winning 3-pointer by Terrence Oglesby with 2.3 seconds left. For the Terps, it was an unthinkable meltdown, and a loss that will likely cost them a first-round ACC Tournament bye and quite possibly an NCAA Tournament bid.

"It's hard to take anything positive from this," Gist said. "Every player in this locker room has to feel hurt from this. We have to realize that we can't give games away, especially now."

This wasn't just any loss. This was as heartbreaking as they come.

The Terps (18-12, 8-7 ACC) have blown big second-half leads before, but nothing like this. They had Clemson (21-7, 9-5) backed into a corner and had a chance to cruise to what would have been an impressive win over a team with a top-50 Ratings Percentage Index ranking.

"We just relaxed," sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez said.

The Tigers revved up the defensive pressure, and the Terps did not execute their offense. Leading 68-55 with 4:31 left, the Terps were outscored 18-2 the rest of the way.

Even as a stunned Comcast Center crowd watched Clemson slowly complete its comeback, the Terps still had a chance at the end. They had the ball in a tie game with 45.4 seconds left, but Vasquez's driving layup attempt was too hard and clanked off the rim.

On the other end, Clemson looked to go down low, but when nothing was open, the Tigers went to Oglesby. The Clemson guard took the ball and drilled an off-balance 3-pointer over Landon Milbourne from the right side of the court in between the baseline and the top of the key.

"Good players take the shots at the end," Oglesby said. "And I'm not calling myself a great player by any means, but that's what I'm trying to be. You've got to have a certain amount of guts in order to take that shot, and I was ready for it."

The Terps didn't do themselves any favors. Along with blowing the 20-point lead, they only made 2-of-15 3-pointers and 12-of-21 free throws. The Terps also turned the ball over 21 times and only forced three turnovers in the second half.

"We helped the situation," coach Gary Williams said. "There's no doubt about it."

For the first 30 minutes, the Terps could not have played any better. It looked as if they were going to finish off a rare blowout and one of their most complete games of the season.

There was a boisterous crowd on hand to watch some monstrous dunks, great production from the bench and strong perimeter defense against the best outside shooting team in the ACC.

And even when Clemson went on mini runs in the second half, the Terps held their ground.

Until the final few minutes.

"When are we gonna become tough enough to finish out games?" Osby asked rhetorically. "We come into the last 10 minutes of the game, we got a lead and we can't finish it out. It's difficult. It's real difficult."

It was a collapse that will be talked about for a long, long time - especially if the Terps miss the NCAA Tournament. The December losses to Ohio and American were bad, but this one was certainly more hurtful.

Now, the Terps will have to win at least two more games, and maybe even three more.

"It hurts so much," Vasquez said. "We had that game - up by 20 at home. I think we owe something to our fans, the people who support us. They deserve better than that."

When Vasquez's desperate 3-pointer from half court missed, the building's only noise came from Clemson's ecstatic bench.

Gist dropped to the ground and crouched over, a feeling that was probably echoed by many Terp fans watching at home.

"It's real tough for everybody in this locker room," Milbourne said. "I take major responsibility on myself for not being ready to play tonight, and especially the last shot of the game. I'm taking this real tough, but the seniors on the team are taking it the toughest because it's their last game here, and you definitely don't want to end your last career game home on a loss."

For Gist and Osby, it was not the way they wanted to go out. But, they might get another game or two at Comcast Center.

And that's not a good thing.

"It's gonna be hard to go to sleep," Osby said. "Tylenol PM and Nyquil."

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