Midway through the second half last night, John Gilchrist sank a running bank shot, which knocked the Maryland guard off-balance. But in an instant, he climbed to his feet and ran downcourt -- teeth gritted, arms pumping -- to get in the face of Jarrett Jack on defense.
Maryland's 79-71 victory over No. 22 Georgia Tech last night before 17,950 at Comcast Center was less about offensive fluidity and more about a gritty defensive effort that carried over from the upset at Duke earlier in the week.
Junior guard Chris McCray slams through two of his 16 points for the Terrapins, who had four players in double figures.
(Joel Richardson -- The Washington Post)
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_____From The Post_____
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Terrapins stop No. 22 Georgia Tech, 79-71, Sunday.
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Mike Wise: Gary Williams and John Gilchrist just try to win.
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The Terrapins almost certainly will be ranked when the top 25 is released today after a week in which they regained an attitude and toughness that their coach had questioned earlier this season. In back-to-back games, Maryland (13-5, 4-3 ACC) has now beaten two schools that reached last year's Final Four.
"We've made a pretty good statement this week," Maryland Coach Gary Williams said. "A lot of teams go up and down during the season. Hopefully this is just the start of things for us in terms of our determination to play well."
Nik Caner-Medley, one of four Terps in double figures, had 19 points, leading Maryland in scoring for the sixth straight game. Maryland also got impressive efforts from Travis Garrison and Ekene Ibekwe, both of whom also played well down the stretch of the Duke victory.
Garrison, who returned to the starting lineup after a one-game absence, grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. Ibekwe, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Will Bowers for the second straight game, had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Then there was Gilchrist, who had only one turnover in 40 minutes, despite being hounded throughout by Jack, Will Bynum and Ismail Muhammad. "Part of their game plan was to keep the ball out of my hands in the second half to give our offense problems," Gilchrist said.
Maryland's offense lulled after Gilchrist made the bank shot to give the Terps an 11-point lead. Maryland scored only one basket in the next six minutes, during which the Yellow Jackets closed to 63-60.
Over the next two minutes, Maryland's defense was unshaken. Ibekwe converted a three-point play, blocked two shots and grabbed two rebounds during that stretch.
"I knew I could take advantage of the guys inside and get them into foul trouble," Ibekwe said, "so I told John I wanted the ball."
Georgia Tech narrowed the gap to 68-63, but then Muhammad fouled Chris McCray, a 91 percent foul shooter. McCray sank two free throws to give Maryland breathing room.
The Yellow Jackets (12-6, 3-4) were hampered in the first half by foul trouble. Luke Schenscher, the 7-foot-1 center who starred in last year's NCAA tournament, picked up two fouls in a little more than five minutes and did not play the rest of the half. He returned to score 10 of his 12 in the second half.
Bynum, meantime, was whistled for his third foul with eight minutes left in the first half, much to the consternation of Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt, who argued that the foul should have been called on Jack instead.
Bynum had scored 58 points in Georgia Tech's two previous games, but sat the remainder of the half.
"You can't reverse the call," Bynum said. "Once it's made, it's made. There is nothing we could do about that."
Georgia Tech's starting back court of Bynum and Jack combined to shoot 6 of 26, as Maryland, which used a zone defense on occasion, contained the Yellow Jackets' speed as the game wore on.
"It was good we were consistent defensively," Williams said. "In this league this year it's going to be tough to run great offense for 40 minutes. You have to score your points when you can, and we still scored 79."
The Terps responded well to the Duke victory. They didn't dwell on the upset, but they retained the defensive intensity.
"Everybody in the locker room did a great job of letting go of the Duke game and coming into today ready," McCray said. "We still had [the loss to] N.C. State in our minds, but we know we made a statement at Duke and now we have to keep winning."
