Bowie steals the show

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Dribbling along the 3-point line in the second half against Virginia last night, Terrapin men's basketball guard Adrian Bowie received a pick from forward Dino Gregory and drove a few steps to his right.

When no one picked him up, Bowie calmly sunk a wide-open jumper just inside the arc to give the Terps a 12-point lead. With his frontcourt contained most of the night, Bowie was as lights out as the Terps needed him to be against the Cavaliers.

The senior scored the team's first seven second-half points and highlighted a crucial conference win on the road against Virginia, 66-42. The 24-point margin of victory was the Terps' largest at Virginia since 1930.

"You never, ever expect that," coach Gary Williams said.

When forward Jordan Williams has struggled this season, the rest of the team often has, too. But against Virginia, the Terps (13-7, 3-3 ACC) showed they can still win despite a less-than-stellar performance from their double-double monster, whose record-breaking streak was snapped against the Cavaliers.

Bowie was the main reason. Since his move to the off-guard position, Bowie has scored in double figures in eight of the past nine games for the Terps. The guard kept the Terps' lead intact with his long-range shooting when the Cavaliers (11-9, 2-4) hinted at a comeback.

"When everything was up in the air, I thought he took over the game offensively for us," Gary Williams said. "He's just decided that he's a senior and he's going to play. There comes a time you have to feel that way."

He also kept Virginia honest with several hard drives to the basket and a three-point play with less than nine minutes to play in the game. The senior's 22 points fell one shy of a career high.

"The players kept feeding me the ball and I just made the shots," Bowie said. "Today was my day to knock down shots."

After hitting just one of six shots to start the game, the Terps found their rhythm from the perimeter. They shot 7-for-15 from behind the arc, including at least one from every guard but Sean Mosley.

"We take pride in our shooting," Bowie said, "and we take pride in being guards."

The improved marksmanship spurred a 14-1 Terp run near the end of the first half. It was certainly needed with Williams held in check by Virginia's Assane Sene, who dominated the post with 15 rebounds. The Terp forward finished with a season low in both points (four) and rebounds (six).

Yet even though Williams failed to register a double-double for the first time in 14 games, it didn't matter. Behind Bowie's strong second half and some late baskets by Tucker, the Terps handily dismantled the cold-shooting Cavaliers.

"Teams probably think that if they take Jordan away, we don't have guys that can step up," Tucker said. "We have to lead this team. Jordan cannot lead this team by himself. When they double-team him, we have to make our open shots. If we do that for the rest of the year, we can be a pretty good team."

The Terps also flexed their defensive muscle, frustrating the Cavaliers with a stifling full-court pressure and perimeter defense. Virginia shot just 4-for-17 from behind the arc against the Terps.

"We keyed on that coming into the game," Tucker said. "We could sense they were getting a little frustrated. They were forcing some of their shots."

By following up their narrow win at home against Clemson on Saturday with last night's blowout on the road, the Terps brought their conference record back up to .500. A road date at Georgia Tech on Sunday now awaits the Terps.

"That was a big win for us tonight," Gary Williams said. "Hopefully we can carry that."

ceckard@umdbk.com