A winning combination

Terrapins men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon had a challenge for his team with just less than four minutes to go against Virginia Tech: extend a 10-point lead to 16 by the final buzzer Saturday.

For a team that had played stout first-half defense and limited the Hokies' scoring ability nearly all game, the task seemed relatively manageable. But after guard Terrell Stoglin missed a 3-pointer out of the timeout, the Terps spiraled out of control, losing their defensive intensity and missing free throws that nearly cost them the game.

The Terps didn't coast to the double-digit win Turgeon had hoped for, but they also never trailed and hit just enough free throws to stave off the late Virginia Tech rally. Their 73-69 win snapped a three-game losing streak and elevated their conference record to .500.

"Up until the 38-minute mark, we were as good as we've been all year," Turgeon said. "But true to course, the way we are, we had to make it interesting."

The Terps (13-7, 3-3 ACC) played one of their best defensive halves of the season, limiting the Hokies to 19 first-half points, and held a comfortable lead throughout the second half. But Virginia Tech (12-9, 1-5) soon started to pick apart the Terps' defense with quick, open layups and free throws.

The Hokies hit five shots in the final 35 seconds, including a 3-pointer by Robert Brown to pull within two with five seconds remaining. They had just six field goals the entire first half.

But Stoglin, who had missed three of his previous four free throws, sank his last two to seal the win. The sophomore guard, despite his struggles at the charity stripe, scored 21 of his game-high 28 points in the second half.

Guard Sean Mosley helped balance Stoglin's late-game inconsistencies. With the Terps clinging to a six-point lead with 1:09 left, the senior drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with one second left on the shot clock.

He hit all three of his free-throw attempts and then another pair 48 seconds later to finish with 15 points.

"I wanted to come out aggressive today," Mosley said. "I didn't want to leave anything out on the court or regret anything at the end of the season. Today, I came out and was aggressive and wanted to get us going early. That's what I did."

It was yet another victory the Terps had to eke out late. They are 9-1 in games decided by eight points or fewer, with several coming after double-digit leads faded to a margin too close for comfort.

"I think it's lack of concentration, which you can blame on inexperience," Turgeon said. "I hope that the things that you see us doing this year we don't wind up doing later this year and next year."

Still, Turgeon remained upbeat about his team's turnaround Saturday. After falling to Duke on Wednesday, the coach said his team had a great meeting Thursday and one of its best practices of the season Friday.

He also shared a statement from the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno with the team.

"Try to have fun, hustle and good things will happen,'" Turgeon said. "And that's what happened."

The Terps welcomed back former assistant coach Rob Ehsan, who now works under Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, for the first time since his departure last May. The assistant gave the Hokies a passionate halftime speech, but to no avail.

Aside from their late-game outburst, the Hokies never had control of the game. The Terps shot 46.8 percent from the field and forward Ashton Pankey had eight points and 11 rebounds, nearly finishing with his first career double-double.

"We're really coming together," Turgeon said, "and it shows by the way we play."

ceckard@umdbk.com