Terps can't complete comeback against Georgia Tech, fall 69-64 in ACC Tournament

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Greivis Vasquez sat at his locker in the Greensboro Coliseum minutes after the Terrapin men's basketball team's ACC quarterfinal against Georgia Tech and bristled at the mention of his second to last shot attempt of the night.

The Terps' star brushed off an invitation to describe the play - a potential-tying three-point attempt with five seconds left that ended with Yellow Jacket Iman Shumpert stripping him of the ball - all but clinching the Georgia Tech upset.

Another reporter asked Vasquez if he was fouled?

The ACC Player of the Year said he wasn't sure, but he didn't blame the referees.

In the end, it was just one of many missed opportunities in a failed comeback attempt.

No. 7 seed Georgia Tech broke out to a big lead and held on for a 69-64 win Friday night to snap the No. 19 Terps' seven-game winning streak. The upset, one of six so far at the tournament, dashed the No. 2 Terps' bid for their first ACC Tournament title in six years before it could ever gain momentum.

After falling behind by as many as 19 points during a dismal first half, the Terps' effective second-half pressure defense wasn't enough to extend their nine-game winning streak against the Yellow Jackets. The Terps (23-8) missed all nine of their second-half shot attempts when trailing by three points or less.

"It was meant to be," said Vasquez, who scored a game-high 17 points. "They got us. This is the first time got me in four years. This is not a good time."

The Terps, who beat Georgia Tech in a Feb. 20 thriller in College Park on Cliff Tucker's buzzer-beater, couldn't reproduce the same magic down the stretch this time.

After trimming a 16-point halftime lead to 48-46 in about seven minutes, the Terps had plenty of chances — including in the tense final minute that featured three of those nine misses.

The Yellow Jackets (21-11) went up 64-59 with 1:14 to go on a controversial follow slam by ACC Freshman of the Year Derrick Favors. On the play, Georgia Tech's Moe Miller threw a lay-up attempt wildly off the backboard, and the shot clock expired as Favors, who finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, threw down the miss. Terps' coach Gary Williams asked the referees to review the play, but they told him it was not reviewable.

On the ensuing play, Vasquez nailed a three-pointer, and Georgia Tech, who will meet N.C. State in today's semifinal, followed with one of their 25 turnovers when Zachery Peacock stepped out of bounds against the press.

That led to two Terp shots to tie, including a potential go-ahead three-point heave by Vasquez that missed everything with the shot clock running down.

With 12 seconds left, Peacock hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to three, and Vasquez had one more tying opportunity. Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said he told his team to foul before the shot to deny Vasquez an attempt, but Shumpert reached in as Vasquez rose to shoot and grabbed the steal.

Vasquez grabbed Shumpert for an intentional foul, and the Yellow Jackets closed out the game at the foul line.

"It's a little frustrating when you use that much energy to get back in the game and get it to two points, and you just can't really get over the top," said guard Eric Hayes, who kept the Terps in it with 12 of his 14 points in the second half.

Those chances might not have been necessary without the Terps' forgettable start.

Williams shouldered the blame for not having his team prepared six days after wrapping up a conference regular season co-championship.

He said the Terps "weren't ready emotionally," and the results showed. Their big men got into early foul trouble, allowing Favors, Peacock and Gani Lawal to assert themselves inside. They combined for 18 points and 17 rebounds in the first half as Georgia Tech shot 62 percent as a team.

The Terps, who shot just 37 percent for the game, trailed 38-19 after Georgia Tech's Glen Rice, Jr. stripped the ball from Eric Hayes in the back court and scored with 2:33 left in the first half.

"We have to be flying around," Williams said. "Everything's got to be going like 100 miles an hour — under control though. We just couldn't get it up to speed in the first half."

"It was different for us. We haven't seen that since the Duke game." said Jordan Williams, referencing the Terps' blowout loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 13.

Gary Williams said he started seeing his team turn it around on the final possessions of the first half, and they continued it into the second half, breaking out on an 8-1 run in less than three minutes to slice the lead back to single digits. Buoyed by Georgia Tech turnovers — he Yellow Jackets had 16 in the second half — the Terps got back into the game and swung back momentum after their lethargic start.

But unlike in several recent games down the regular season stretch, the Terps couldn't complete the comeback. Even though the Yellow Jackets had twice as many turnovers as made field goals in the second half, they were able to hold on and remove any doubt about their NCAA Tournament candidacy.

While Georgia Tech has a chance to still win the conference's automatic bid, the Terps now have two full days to wait until Sunday evening's NCAA Tournament Selection Show.

After the game, the Terps, who failed to win an ACC Tournament game for the third time in four years, talked about the disappointment of coming so close to continuing their improbable run of late season success.

But forward Landon Milbourne, who had 15 points and six rebounds, said the Terps understood they earned their fate.

"If we would've played the first half like we played the second half," Milbourne said, "we would've won this game."

edetweiler@umdbk.com