Terps thump Tar Heels 92-71

By: JournalNow Staff | THE WASHINGTON POST
Published: February 07, 2010

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Maryland men's basketball team made an active decision Sunday afternoon with a little less than 13 minutes remaining against a team that is the reigning national champion but is now a shadow of itself. North Carolina guard Marcus Ginyard made a free throw to cut what had been a 16-point Terrapins' lead to four, and Maryland Coach Gary Williams grew a little anxious on the sideline.

"We came out in the second half not really as strong as we wanted to," senior forward Landon Milbourne said. "We knew that, and we knew we didn't want to give them any confidence. The game got kind of close, so we just decided to just go on a run and pick it up on defense a little bit, try to get some steals, try to get some easy layups, and we just went out there and did it."

Maryland embarked on a 10-0 run, and then the Terrapins continued to push further and further away from their opponent, until North Carolina Coach Roy Williams, in a moment of eyeglass-tossing frustration, could take no more. Maryland handed the Tar Heels a 92-71 defeat at Comcast Center, the worst loss Roy Williams has suffered since taking over his alma mater in 2003.

Though Milbourne clarified he did not mean to sound as if the Terrapins possess the authority to simply flip a switch whenever they need to, such an implication regarding Maryland's ability of late would not be too far off base.

Over the first month of Atlantic Coast Conference play, Maryland (16-6, 6-2) earned the label of the favorite -- a squad that plays consistently well enough to beat the teams it is supposed to beat, or, more important, a squad that possesses the focus necessary to keep from losing to inferior opponents. Boston College? N.C. State? Miami? No slip-ups.

North Carolina (13-10, 2-6) now resides in the same group as the Eagles, the Wolfpack and the Hurricanes. The Tar Heels entered Sunday's contest having dropped six of their past eight games, which meant that they, too, were a team Maryland was supposed to beat.

"I think this win means a lot to us, more than years past," said senior guard Greivis Vasquez, who finished with a game-high 26 points, 11 assists and five rebounds. "We won (against North Carolina) last year. Yeah, it was a huge win. Everybody was against us. Now, it means a lot because we good. You know, everybody was expecting us to win. That's the way it should be."

"That second half, that five-, six-minute period where they were making their run they were a very good basketball team," Gary Williams said. "If you give them that run, if you let them continue that, you know, obviously they can win the game."

The Terrapins decided against such a trajectory and, consequently, picked up another win.