Men's basketball ends homestand with blowout win

After hearing his name called for the first time this season before the opening tip Tuesday night, Terrell Stoglin made sure not to disappoint.

The freshman guard validated coach Gary Williams' decision to give him his first career start, coming out of the gate fast and recording eight of his 12 points in the first half as the Terps cruised to a 95-40 victory over a hapless Colgate team.

"He creates a lot of energy early on," Williams said. "Certainly, he's not perfect with what he does, but he brings some energy to the table. I thought we'd try that, and it worked pretty well for us."

Stoglin, who ran the point as Adrian Bowie again manned the off-guard spot, made his biggest impact from beyond the arc, hitting three of five shots from long range. His first 3-pointer came just 2:45 into the game, and it sent the small crowd inside Comcast Center into a roar of cheers.

"He did really well," forward Jordan Williams said. "It's not easy as a freshman to go from not starting to start a game, 14 games into the season. So I thought he did a really good job. He stepped up to the challenge."

Every player except forward Ashton Pankey, who will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his left leg, saw time on the floor, as the Terps (10-4) used their depth to dominate the Raiders (1-12).

Eleven players recorded a point, and five scored in double digits for the Terps, who trailed only once in the game – a two-point deficit after Colgate scored the contest's initial basket.

"Offensively, I thought we were unselfish," Gary Williams said. "We had several guys make really good, extra passes, and that's how you can shoot a good percentage. We were able to do that tonight."

Bowie paced the Terps with 16 points, followed by Stoglin, Williams, forward Dino Gregory and guard Cliff Tucker with 12 each. Williams also recorded his eighth straight and 12^th overall double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds.

"Depth is good if they can play. Depth doesn't mean anything if you just have bodies," Gary Williams said. "We have guys that can play and some guys that can earn some minutes now. That becomes important, especially on the road."

The Terps also used a stifling defense to shut down Colgate, at one point holding the Raiders scoreless for more than nine minutes. Williams blocked three shots, and guard Sean Mosley had a block in the first half that led to a fast-break transition basket from Stoglin.

"Flying to every shot is very important," Jordan Williams said. "That is another thing that Coach Williams emphasized is to fly to every shot, talking on defense, and being active on and off the ball defensively. And we did a great job of doing that tonight."

With tonight's win, the Terps ended a five-game, month-long home stretch. They went 4-1 in those games, with the only loss coming to Boston College on Dec. 12.

Now the Terps can turn their attention to the heart of their ACC schedule, which starts with a grueling match against No. 1 Duke in Durham, N.C., on Sunday.

Williams realizes that the Terps haven't played a team with the talent that Duke has yet this season and that their game against the Blue Devils will be a good measuring stick for his inexperienced team. 

"We had better players than Colgate did, so you're going to win that game most of the time," Williams said. "Now, when you start going against teams that have players as good as your players – more size and things like that – then you see. … We'll see if we're at that level coming up."

jengelke@umdbk.com