Men's basketball leaves NYC without a ‘W’

NEW YORK – Terrapin men's basketball guards Sean Mosley and Terrell Stoglin both said their team's effort Friday came from the heart.

For a second straight night, the Terps allowed a top-15 team to make a run early in the second half to push its lead to double digits. And on both occasions, the Terps just held on, continuing to pick away at the deficit before putting themselves within striking distance in the final minutes.

Pulling out a win, though, proved the problem. In the consolation game of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, the Terps fell to No. 13 Illinois, 80-76, to cap off the tournament with two losses at Madison Square Garden.

"I'm really proud of the team," said coach Gary Williams, whose Terps also fell to No. 4 Pitt, 79-70, on Thursday. "Both nights here, we could have folded, but we didn't."

After forward Dino Gregory's basket gave the Terps a one-point lead with 15:31 remaining in the game, the Fighting Illini made their push. They hit back-to-back 3-pointers and attacked the basket with two layups to grab their largest lead of the night.

While the Terps (3-2) didn't let Illinois streak away, they also couldn't cut into the deficit. With 5:35 remaining, two free throws by Illinois guard Demetri McCamey gave the team a 12-point lead.

Then the Terps started finding forward Jordan Williams in the post. Williams, who went scoreless in the first half due to early foul trouble, nailed three of his final four free throws, and Stoglin hit a pair of 3-pointers to give the Terps a chance.

"We kept fighting, we kept pushing," Mosley said. "We were right there."

Perhaps the biggest chance for the Terps came after two made free throws from Williams with 90 seconds remaining. After an Illinois (4-1) timeout, Stoglin jumped in front of an inbounds pass for a steal. He found a spot in the corner for a wide-open 3-point attempt, but it hit off the rim and onto the top of the backboard to give possession back to the Fighting Illini.

"I just wanted to get a good shot off," Stoglin said. "We understand what we need to do to win big games. We just have to finish it at the end."

Stoglin redeemed his earlier miss by hitting a 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining after Illinois had missed four straight free throws. But Illinois guard Brandon Paul nailed both his attempts to ice the game in the final seconds.

"This wasn't a guarantee game up here," Gary Williams said.

Even with Jordan Williams and Gregory picking up two early fouls in the first half, the Terps kept up with the Fighting Illini throughout the opening 20 minutes. Williams played nine minutes in the first half, going 0-for-1 and grabbing two rebounds. He ultimately finished the game with his fourth double-double of the season (15 points, 13 rebounds).

The Terps won the rebounding battle and controlled the paint much of the night, but they couldn't defend Illinois' streaky 3-point shooters. For a 12-minute period encompassing both halves, the Fighting Illini didn't score a single field goal inside the arc. But they did hit eight 3-pointers during that stretch and finished the game hitting 10 of 19. The Terps, meanwhile, hit five of 18.

"They're a great streak shooting team. They seem to feed off each other," Gary Williams said. "You would like to match their 3-pointers. We'll get there."

Even with the two-loss trip to New York, the Terps didn't leave feeling too down on their performance. Last season, they lost two games in a November tournament and still went to the NCAA Tournament.

"We just showed that we had a lot of heart, and that's going to help us for the rest of the season," Stoglin said. "We're a young team, so we're just learning from everything."

"We're a work in progress, no doubt about it," Gary Williams said. "But we're a pretty good basketball team."

ceckard@umdbk.com