For men's basketball, a changing of the guards?

With three seconds left on the clock Sunday night — enough time for one final desperation shot that could have tied the game against Temple — Terrapin men's basketball coach Gary Williams turned not to one of his three upperclassmen guards but to a freshman.

Reserve guard Terrell Stoglin ultimately missed the half-court heave in the Terps' 64-61 loss, but that the ball was in his hands at that moment was a powerful enough symbol for the critical role the Terp bench took Sunday — not to mention what it might take on in the immediate future.

Starting guards Adrian Bowie, Sean Mosley and Cliff Tucker struggled through much of the first half on both sides of the ball against the Owls. When the Terps opened the second half by digging themselves into a 15-point hole, Williams had seen enough.

Within minutes, he had made wholesale changes, pulling out every starter but forward Jordan Williams.

"I was mad," Gary Williams said. "I would have put six [substitutes] in there if I could have."

He didn't need to. The reserves sparked the Terps to a 10-0 run.

"You just could tell, right away, they were flying around," Williams said. "They just play. They don't care. They just play. And that's what we needed. We didn't need to change a lot of things except for the energy level we were playing at."

Williams leaned on the substitutes for large chunks of the second half. Led in large part by Stoglin and freshman guard Pe'Shon Howard, the Terps trimmed a double-digit deficit to a 56-56 tie with less than two minutes remaining.

"We were fighting," Jordan Williams said. "We were playing hard. It wasn't even about who was the better basketball player or who was more talented. It was about who wanted it more, and us five on the court wanted it more than [the previous starting five]."

The bench contributed 35 points in the game, compared to a combined nine from Bowie, Tucker, Mosley and forward Dino Gregory.

With 16 points Sunday, Stoglin outshot the starting backcourt on his own. Howard had six points and a team-high six assists.

Even after the reserves' comeback bid had failed, Gary Williams' message to his starters was clear: Up your energy, or risk losing your job.

"We'll see how the next two days go in practice. That's all I can say," Williams said when asked about the starting situation after the game. "We'll work on some things, see if we can snap some people out of the way they were playing tonight and go from there."

Of the eschewed starters Sunday, Gregory is likely the one whose job is most secure. Despite managing one point against Temple, the senior had six rebounds and three steals.

Mosley's spot also seems safe. Even with his offensive shortcomings, the guard brings a valuable defensive presence.

Bowie and Tucker, however, might not be so fortunate. Their showings Sunday were the latest chapter in what have been vexing seasons to this point. Bowie's performances have varied from impressive to poor, while Tucker, after scoring in double digits in the team's first six games, had two points against Temple after being shut out in a win at Penn State.

As reserves, Stoglin and Howard have starred at times as freshmen, building resumés that could soon make them a threat for starting roles, if they aren't already.

"They didn't do everything right," Gary Williams said Sunday, "but they certainly played with a great deal of intensity."

When asked about the lack of intensity his fellow starters displayed, Jordan Williams, the lone constant for the Terps against Temple, stressed patience.

"That's what we've got to figure out," Williams said. "It's not going to be instant or right away, but we are going to figure it out."

kyanchulis@umdbk.com