Terps trip to Maui ends poorly

LAHAINA, HAWAII - Several boosters who made the long journey to watch the Terrapin men's basketball team play in the Maui Invitational sported white T-shirts throughout the week reading "Fear the Honu," a reference to the Hawaiian name for the sea turtle.

But even they must've had trouble believing the message as the No. 21 Terps walked off the court at the Lahaina Civic Center Wednesday with their second loss in as many days, dropping the Terps to a disappointing fourth-place finish in a tournament they were favored to win.

The Terps (4-2) have put themselves in a precarious position if they hope to craft a convincing NCAA Tournament résumé by failing to defeat a Division I opponent during their Thanksgiving week trip to the islands.

The team, which will likely lose its national ranking when the new poll is released today, followed a disturbingly similar trend in three lackluster performances. Heading into a week in which they will play two more power conference opponents, the struggling Terps suddenly have far more questions than answers.

"You've got to play 40 minutes," said coach Gary Williams, whose team plays at Indiana tomorrow before facing No. 4 Villanova on Sunday. "Hopefully, we'll get that coming out of here — the importance of playing your best basketball early on in the game to establish yourselves."

After a pair of Terp players appeared at the press conference following Monday's 79-51 win against tournament host Chaminade, none were made available for comment the rest of the week. The Terps lost 69-57 to Cincinnati on Tuesday and 78-69 to Wisconsin on Wednesday.

Last year, the Terps picked up their first two losses of the season in an early trip to the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. But the Terps knocked off eventual national runner-up Michigan State in their first game of that tournament, a win that loomed large in March when the Terps found themselves on the edge of the NCAA Tournament field.

A win against a Division II squad won't impress the selection committee.
Now, to bolster their nonconference résumé, the Terps will need to knock off the Wildcats at the Verizon Center in Sunday's BB&T Classic showdown.

But coming off a pair of disappointing losses, Williams wasn't even ready to look that far ahead in his final Maui press conference.

"Hopefully, [the losses will] make us better for Indiana," Williams said.

Besides the re-emergence of guard Greivis Vasquez, who averaged 18.5 points in the two losses, there weren't many positives to take from the Maui trip. The team struggled with rebounding, perimeter defense and running its half court offense at various times.

It started early in the week when the Terps allowed Chaminade to hang around into the second half. Given the Terps' eventual 28-point win, Williams balked at a question about his team's slow start in that contest. The 21st-year coach instead praised the scrappy Silverswords.

But after two more lackluster first-half performances resulted in losses, Williams softened his stance considerably and placed the onus on his team.

"You can't come from behind all the time against good teams," Williams said. "It's just not going to happen."

In explaining his team's struggles, Williams also leaned heavily on the fact that suspended forward Dino Gregory didn't make the trip. Freshmen James Padgett and Jordan Williams continued to split minutes in the starting spot that would have been Gregory's. Jordan Williams, who leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.7 per game, got into foul trouble in both losses.

Without ever specifically naming Gregory, Williams, who praised his freshmen for doing their best in a tough situation, alluded to the team being short-handed until Gregory's scheduled Dec. 12 return.

But in the meantime, it's just one excuse for a suddenly disastrous start to the season.
"We don't have another way to go," Williams said. "That's just the way it is."

edetweiler@umdbk.com