Vasquez makes amends in win

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Greivis Vasquez hit shot after shot last night, but something was missing each time: the showboating.

This time around, it was all business for Vasquez.

The sophomore guard scored 25 points, collected six rebounds and dished out eight assists to lead the Terrapin men's basketball team to a big 70-65 road win over Boston College in front of 6,449 fans at Conte Forum.

Known to stick out his shooting hand a little longer after a basket or stare down opposing student sections, Vasquez did none of that. Earlier this season against the Eagles, Vasquez was given a technical and fouled out with 10:30 left in the game, and the Terps went on to lose. Nothing he did last night could even come close to warranting a technical.

Unless, of course, you count the way he buried Boston College in the second half.

"Man, I was just fired up," Vasquez said. "I was trying to win the game. Last time we played them, I fouled out, got a technical foul and we lost the game, so I just took it upon myself and was just trying to help my team to win."

The victory was coach Gary Williams' 600th in his career, another milestone to add to the veteran coach's long resume.

"CONGRATS COACH WILLIAMS 600 WINS" was the message the Terps left their head coach on the whiteboard in the locker room. Along with that, a very loud celebration could be heard as Williams addressed the team after the game.

"They said they were happy for me - I'll take them at their word," Williams joked.

"They're a great group, not because of that, but because of the way they battled this year," he said. "They don't have to prove that anymore, what type of people they are. When we got serious in [the locker room], the thing we talked about was building from here, not being satisfied for the rest of the year."

Although Williams can joke now, it was a no laughing matter in the waning minutes. Once again, the Terps made things more dramatic than necessary, as they let a nine-point lead with 3:19 left dwindle down to one with 1:38 left.

But on the Terps' next possession, Vasquez found sophomore Eric Hayes in the corner, and the other sophomore guard drilled his only 3-pointer of the game to put the Terps up 69-65. Boston College did not score the rest of the way.

"Big shot," Williams said.

"Hey, I love me Hayes," Vasquez said. "He was playing horrible, but he hit the winning shot. He won the game. He's a tough guy. He knew he was making a lot of mistakes, but he got heart, and not many players got that. He took the ball and knew he was gonna make that shot."

Before finding Hayes for the clinching basket, Vasquez was doing everything else he could to carry the Terps. He hit floaters, he hit tough layups and he hit 4 of 7 3-pointers. More importantly, he didn't go crazy with his shot selection, especially as he started to heat up.

With the Terps leading 49-48, Vasquez scored the game's next eight points, and following a Boston College time-out with 9:21 left, the Eagles zoned in on defending Vasquez. But while they closed off his scoring lanes, the Eagles couldn't stop the 6-foot-6-inch guard from dishing out assists.

On the Terps' next (and final) five field goals of the game, Vasquez recorded an assist on every one. On one possession, he penetrated and brought two defenders with him, only to dish a no-look pass to freshman swingman Cliff Tucker, who dropped in an easy layup with the shot clock winding down.

"When Greivis can play like that, it helps out a lot," said senior forward James Gist, who had another monster game with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds.

And not once did Vasquez turn around and start jabbing with some fans or taunting students.

"When you're a competitor like Greivis is, you have a lot of pride in winning," Williams said. "All the great players, no matter what the sport, have that in common. Winning is what it's all about. It's more important than anything they do scoring-wise in basketball. Greivis wanted to win that game."

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