There was a point in the season when the Terrapin men's basketball team went through tiresome, scoreless stretches, surrendered big shots at the most inopportune times and finished the night with a gloomy post-game disposition in the locker room.
With their new attitude and improved results in the past month, they were finally past that point.
Until last night.
The Terps led by 14 points in the first half, and later by 11 in the second half, and appeared to have had their eighth ACC win well in hand. After all, the Virginia Tech was a struggling team, coming off three straight losses.
But the Terps couldn't put them away. And it sounded like a familiar story from the players after the game.
"We're better than they are," sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez said. It was a similar statement to one he made after losing to Ohio in December.
"We're leading the whole game by 14, 10 points, and then they just outplayed us at the end and they won," he continued. "It's hard to take it, especially at home."
Regardless of who the better team actually is (judging by records and recent play, one would have to still think the Terps), the Hokies are the ones who came out of College Park with a victory, and the Hokies are the ones savoring a season sweep.
Unlike losses against Duke where the Terps fought hard but just appeared to be undermanned, last night's defeat was well within their control. It's safe to say the Terps lost the game more than Virginia Tech won it. With nine second-half turnovers, the Terps gave their opponents every opportunity to steal a win.
"You shouldn't turn the ball over when you have the lead, because there's no urgency, you don't have to force anything," coach Gary Williams said. "[You] can't turn the ball over that many times no matter who you play."
Even when they weren't turning over the basketball, the Terps had ineffective offensive possessions which were just as crippling as turnovers. Ten straight times down the court in the first half (a period that spanned over 7 minutes long) the Terps failed to score a point.
It was a truly ugly game - and I'm not referring to Hokies' guard Dorenzo Hudson vomiting on the floor, either.
And just like the ugly games that the Terps dropped to Ohio and American earlier in the season, there was a lack of respect for the opponent going into the game. It may have caused the Terps to play less than their best basketball.
"We just have to learn not to take teams for granted," sophomore forward Landon Milbourne said. "Virginia Tech came in and wanted it more than we did. I think we might have taken them for granted."
"We weren't tough," Vasquez said. "We didn't play hard in the last two minutes and they did. Some of their guards, I never heard of none of them, I guess they made their names today against us."
Even as the Terps last night were reminiscent of the early-season Terps, the team is still in a favorable position within the conference - something it could not boast months ago.
But now they'll have to play their way back into a position that won't make this loss one that might plague their season.
"That game shouldn't have been that close," Williams said.
No, it really shouldn't have.
mseligdbk@gmail.com
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