Terps hold on for narrow road victory

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — For more than 39 minutes last night, the Terrapin men's basketball team relied on its starters to come up with the key plays — the points that positioned it for a road win at Florida State.

The bench had accounted for just three points when Seminole guard Michael Snaer broke into the lane with his sights set on tying the game with a layup in the closing minute. But reserve forward Dino Gregory slid in front of the hoop and took Snaer's impact square in the chest. The ball slipped through the net as the official emphatically waived off the basket, calling an offensive charge.

Florida State never mustered another game-tying attempt.

The Terps held off the Seminoles for a 71-67 win at the Donald L. Tucker Center last night, completing a season sweep of Florida State and keeping pace in the wild ACC standings.
"That's the reason we won the game," guard Greivis Vasquez said of the charge that effectively quieted the home crowd at the end of an emotional game for both squads.

Vasquez, Landon Milbourne, Jordan Williams and guard Eric Hayes combined for 67 points, led by Vasquez's 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Milbourne, a forward, added 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks as the Terps snapped a four-game losing streak at Florida State.

The Terps (15-6, 5-2 ACC) surged back from a lethargic first half by making 11 of their first 20 second-half shots to build their lead to as much as nine. They held on through the final seconds with a mix of timely free-throw shooting and smart fouling to make sure the Seminoles (16-6, 4-4) didn't get off a potential game-tying 3-point attempt.

Vasquez, who was booed lustily by the Florida State fans nearly every time he brought the ball up court, defiantly punched the air after hitting a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game in the final seconds. After scuffling through a road loss at Clemson on Sunday, the Terps bounced back by making the necessary plays down the stretch.

"I think it was just toughness," said forward Jordan Williams, who produced 14 points and six rebounds while helping keep 7-foot-1 Seminole center Solomon Alabi in check. "We came out in a hostile environment, and I think the most part was just staying together as a team down the stretch."

Vasquez overcame his rude welcome, which became even ruder after he punctuated a second half 3-pointer with a quick shimmy, by providing energy in 39 minutes of action.
His driving layup with 1:40 left put the Terps up for good.

"He uses that [crowd reception] to help him be a good player," said coach Gary Williams, who lauded Vasquez for his composure. "Some people don't like it. I could hear about 10,000 who didn't like it tonight, but that's the way he plays."

"It's not about me," Vasquez added. "I was trying to win the game."

The team's three seniors — Vasquez, Milbourne and Hayes — largely carried the team in the Terps' win against the Seminoles in College Park on Jan. 10. Last night, they let Jordan Williams, who won his first ACC Rookie of the Week honors last week, in on the effort.

The Terps' bench scoring was nearly nonexistent, as those four players combined to make all of the team's 26 field goals. No other Terp had a point until forward James Padgett's free throw with 10:05 left in the game. Gregory hit a pair of free throws with 2:21 remaining, and guard Sean Mosley — the team's fifth starter — added a free throw in the closing seconds.

After a disastrous offensive showing against the Tigers, the surge by the seniors and Jordan Williams proved a necessary remedy.

Gary Williams was pleased with the way his team adjusted offensively after halftime, when they hit their first three shots and scored the first seven points to turn a four-point deficit into a three-point lead.

"We run a lot of timing plays, which maybe a lot of teams don't do now, and maybe we have to work a little harder at running our offense," Gary Williams said. "We were willing to do that in the second half."

They turned it around quickly enough to survive the Seminoles, who nearly completed a comeback thanks to guard Derwin Kitchen's career-high 29 points.

After coming up short in their first two tightly contested road games, the Terps found a way to pull it out.

Heading into a Sunday matchup with a struggling North Carolina team, which lost its fifth ACC game last night at Virginia Tech, the Terps got a momentum-building win that could have lasting implications.

Jordan Williams, who watched Gregory's charge from the bench, gave a series of fist pumps in the closing seconds, a move that showed Vasquez wasn't the only player who felt some redemption.

"It's just a huge thing off our backs," Jordan Williams said. "This is a big thing for us. We needed this."

edetweiler@umdbk.com