In Tip-Off loss to Iona, Terps leave Turgeon steaming

Mark Turgeon has often said in this season's early going that his Terrapins men's basketball team is a work in progress.

With an impressive comeback victory Friday and a turnover-laden loss two days later, the Terps left no doubt of that sentiment. Their 89-63 loss to Iona yesterday in the fifth-place game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off capped an erratic 1-2 showing in the tournament.

The Terps (2-2) had 26 turnovers against the Gaels, wasting solid efforts from guards Sean Mosley (21 points) and Terrell Stoglin (17 points), the only players with double-digit points.

Turgeon was so displeased with his team's play that at one point early in the game, he was on the court mid-play, yelling at his team.

"We didn't play well. Really never played well all day," Turgeon said. "Got in foul trouble, turned the ball over. We were confused, we were selfish, quit running back. … I don't know many how many times we can ask these guys to run back, and they still don't do it the way they need to do it. It was a bad day."

In the first 10 minutes of the game alone, the Terps turned the ball over 10 times. They kept close thanks to Mosley's scoring early on, but their one-point advantage with 12:58 remaining in the first half would be their last of the game.

After entering halftime down only three points, the Terps were outscored by 23 points in the final 20 minutes.

"The lack of commitment to run the right plays right now is mind boggling," Turgeon said. "I've never seen anything like it. It's the biggest challenge I've ever had in coaching. It's not even close. … To me, the kids got to care more."

The team's lack of depth, particularly in the frontcourt, is well noted, and Turgeon has been candid about the resulting struggles the Terps may suffer through this year. He just never expected his limited roster would also ignore his plays so blatantly.

"I've taken over programs before that were picked low in the league," Turgeon said. "But the guys did what they were supposed to do."

Afterward, Turgeon insisted that the team is buying into his system and coaching. The problem, he said, is they don't always do so.

"When we're not buying in is when it goes bad — and we splinter," Turgeon said. "I've been telling [them] that since the first practice. When things go bad, we got to stick together."

Yesterday's loss exposes how much work Turgeon still has left in preparing his team for its ACC schedule. It also comes nearly 48 hours after a victory that had given the Terps some hope that they might be further along than once thought.

After trudging through much of the first half Friday against Colorado, Stoglin shook off an 0-for-9 shooting performance the night before against Alabama and took over the game offensively. The sophomore scored 32 points, including 25 in the second half, and had eight straight during an 11-0 Terps run that gave them control going forward. They beat the Buffs, 78-71, as Stoglin finished with the second-most points in the tournament's history.

"Terrell got 32 points, but he's doing a lot of other little stuff that's helping us: guarding, stealing and getting rebounds," Turgeon said Friday. "I think we beat a good team that's much more further along than we are."

The good feelings of that comeback win hardly lingered in San Juan, however, after yesterday's blowout loss.

"I'm giving the same message," Turgeon said. "And something's got to change, or it's just going to be a mediocre season, at best. And I don't want it to be mediocre."

schneider@umdbk.com