Loss gives no reason to fret — yet

For the fourth time this season Sunday night, the Terrapin men's basketball team squandered an opportunity to claim a signature victory.

But fans shouldn't panic — there is, after all, still a lot of basketball left to be played this season.

The Terps lost to Boston College on Sunday, 79-75, in their ACC opener, meaning that 11 games into their season, they have yet to win a game against a high-quality opponent. So far, the Terps' season has been defined more so by the teams they've lost to than the teams they've beaten.

The Terps have had their shots at resumé-boosting victories, hanging tough against No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 16 Illinois in New York and Temple in Washington before hosting the Eagles yesterday.

But in each instance, the Terps came up short.

"We missed some shots. They made their shots," coach Gary Williams said. "Give Boston College credit. They did a good job of isolating some matchups that hurt us a little bit. We didn't do a good enough job on our offense or our defense in certain periods of the game, and it hurt us."

The Eagles, who are riding a five-game winning streak, are an experienced squad with a good coach in Steve Donahue, who won three straight Ivy League titles at Cornell before taking control at Boston College this season.

So the loss doesn't mean the end of the world for the Terps, who still have 15 ACC games and a Jan. 15 matchup against No. 12 Villanova remaining on their schedule. But it did showcase all the questions surrounding this team as the university enters winter break.

"Stuff like this happens," forward Dino Gregory said. "We've got to get better as a team this week in practice and then move on from there and not let it happen again."

Most students won't see the Terps in person for more than a month, and a lot could change in that time. The Terps will need to begin answering a number of questions, including:

Who will emerge as the team's second scoring threat behind Jordan Williams?

Will the Terps' starting five remain intact after impressive play from freshman guards Pe'Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin?

And just how good is this team after losing Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne?

So far, answers to that last question have been hard to gauge.

The Terps have dominated weak opponents — Seattle and UNC-Greensboro, for instance — and fallen to teams with clear talent advantages, such as the No. 3 Panthers.

They've twice played in games that have come down to the last shot, with Howard's buzzer-beater against College of Charleston and Stoglin's last-second, half-court miss against Temple producing split results.

And then there's Sunday's four-point loss to the Eagles.

When the game entered the final minute, the Terps repeatedly faltered, giving Boston College forward Corey Raji a wide-open 3-pointer before turning the ball over on the ensuing possession. And after a missed 3-pointer from Stoglin with 17 seconds remaining, Raji put the nail in the coffin by making a free throw to give Boston College a four-point lead.

"It's the little things that hurt us," Gregory said. "We need to execute certain plays so we can win these games. As soon as we fix those things, we'll start winning these close games."

Countless times under Gary Williams, the Terps have proved the old adage of "It's not how you start, but how you finish."

Last season's turnaround offers perhaps the best example. A year ago, the Terps were facing the same situation in front of them today. Without so much as a signature win, critics and fans alike believed an NCAA Tournament appearance was out of reach. But the Terps rallied late in the year to finish tied for first in the ACC, a comeback that both Williams and his players alluded to Sunday.

So even though the Terps lack much of a portfolio at this juncture of the season, there's no reason to fret. The Terps' four losses have come by a combined 20 points, and a few improvements from now until late January could make all the difference.

"Hopefully, we learned some things," Williams said. "We don't have to get a lot better, but we have to get better."

If the Terps can do that, their big win will come soon enough.

jengelke@umdbk.com