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Maryland's Bambale Osby (50) grabs one of his career-high 15 rebounds over Duke's Kyle Singler in the second half. |
COLLEGE PARK, Md.--A week ago, they were bubbly. Now, the Maryland Terrapins are bubbling. As in, on the NCAA tournament bubble--their annual late-January status.
There was absolutely no shame in last night's 93-84 home loss to fourth-ranked Duke--just lingering wistfulness about what could have been and a lesson in handling prosperity.
"I don't think we played well enough," senior James Gist said in a quiet Comcast Center locker room. "This game was ours to win. We know what we're capable of. We played a top team tonight, and we've got to want it every night. That's the difference between top teams and us."
Well-rested and well-regarded after last Saturday's stunning road victory at then-No. 1 North Carolina, the Terrapins looked ready to add Duke to their hit list. Maryland thoroughly outplayed the Blue Devils in a raucous first half and took a 51-42 lead into the break.
But a team that seems to thrive on overcoming adversity still hasn't learned to play from ahead.
Turnovers on their first three possessions of the second half, though, resulted in three straight Duke baskets--and the game was on. From there, Duke's superior will, combined with Maryland's occasional sloppy ball-handling and free-throw shooting, made the difference.
"That's where we want to be," coach Gary Williams said, referring to the Blue Devils. "We don't want to say, 'Gee, we played really good against two top-five teams.' We're fighting to get back there. We were there for a long time. Now, we're fighting to get back
Few thought the young Terps were anywhere near that caliber after consecutive home losses to Ohio University and American in December. But they've shown remarkable resiliency and grit, winning six of their previous seven before last night.
Gist's play began reflecting his all-ACC talent. Steady point guard Eric Hayes is back from a high ankle sprain that caused him to miss three games, providing some balance to the mercurial Greivis Vasquez. And bruising Bambale Osby emerged as a complement to Gist inside--providing a power game that gave the undersized Blue Devils fits for
But the Terps (12-8) don't have much experience protecting a lead against a ranked opponent. They squandered a double-digit edge against UNC before rallying. Last night, against Duke's trademark pressure, they blinked just enough to give the Devils first hope, then confidence.
"Man, we've got to learn to play with a lead," Osby said, to no one in particular. "We need to calm down, stay focused and not get flustered and panic. We were rushing our passes and our shots when it was not necessary."
To be fair, the Blue Devils had a little something to do with that. They provided a clinic on how to persevere when things aren't going your way.
Marvelous freshman Kyle Singler, Duke's No. 2 scorer on the season, fouled out while trying to guard Gist and Osby. He scored seven mostly insignificant points, but veterans DeMarcus Nelson (who scored a career-high 27 points) and Gerald Henderson Jr. (who tied his best with 23) picked up
"Our mind-set was that we weren't going to lose this game," Nelson said. "We were going to will the win, whatever it took."
Maryland proved last week it has the talent to beat anyone, but inconsistency
The Terps have always taken their cue from Williams, who rails at any perceived slight--real or otherwise--to motivate his team. The Terps have gotten so accustomed to what they consider disrespect that dealing with prosperity rarely comes up.
The good news is that Maryland has proven it can play with the best teams in an unspectacular ACC. And, as Osby pointed out, most
"This is the first time I've been in a leading position," said Osby, a junior-college transfer who was a reserve last season. "Grievis is learning to play point guard, James is learning to be the man inside, I'm learning to play 30 minutes a game.
"There's a lot of things we're learning. But we have to learn them quick, because the season's coming to
A win last night would have greatly enhanced Maryland's NCAA resume. Losing shouldn't hurt them--as long as they continue to grow. That doesn't make it any easier to swallow, though.
"We're learning how to do this," Osby said with a sigh. "Tonight was a hard lesson to learn."
Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443
Email: sdeshazo@freelancestar.com
