Terps Rally to Round 1 Victory

Defense Rises To Slow Curry : Maryland 82, Davidson 70

Ekene Ibekwe throws down two of his 11 points to help Maryland advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. (Jonathan Newton - The Washington Post)

BUFFALO, March 15 -- Maryland Coach Gary Williams spent Wednesday night watching memorable NCAA tournament upsets on a classic sports network. His team spent Thursday ensuring the Terrapins' first-round game this year would never appear on the channel.

Maryland, back in the tournament for the first time since 2004, avoided becoming the first high seed to be eliminated from the field by rallying from an eight-point second-half deficit to beat 13th-seeded Davidson, 82-70. The fourth-seeded Terrapins (25-8) advanced to play fifth-seeded Butler in Saturday's second round of the Midwest Region at HSBC Arena.

"You definitely feel pressure today," Williams said. "If you don't win today, it doesn't matter what you did during the season. People would want to know what's wrong."

Williams was not pleased when Maryland drew Davidson because he knew the Wildcats could have been seeded higher and featured more athleticism than many observers realized. Davidson had won 25 of its past 26 games because of an offense predicated on three-point shooting and a defense defined by rebounding.

But Maryland dominated the rebounding battle, 54-35, largely because of contributions from back-court players and held the Wildcats to 3-of-17 three-point shooting in the second half. Maryland's first NCAA tournament victory in three years left players exuberant yet relieved.

The entertaining, up-tempo game also left much of the crowd delivering a standing ovation for Davidson's Stephen Curry, the sensational freshman guard who was thought to be too small to play in the ACC. After fouling out in the closing seconds, Curry heard the salute but couldn't help thinking about what he could have done better.

There wasn't much.

The slender son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry scored 30 points, prompting Williams to tell him afterward that he could play anywhere. Maryland's best defender, D.J. Strawberry, covered Curry with mixed results most of the game and echoed that sentiment. But he added, "I'd still rather have Mike Jones."

Jones continued his hot play over the past month with a team-high 17 points. Davidson attempted 37 three-point shots, but a three-pointer by Jones with 2 minutes 11 seconds remaining proved the most critical.

Freshman point guard Greivis Vasquez penetrated on a set play and had the option to flip a pass to either side. Vasquez decided to go to his right, where he found Jones for a 20-foot shot. Jones converted for Maryland's final field goal of the game and a seven-point Terrapins advantage.

The Terrapins may not have been in position to win had it not been for the all-around play of reserve forward Bambale Osby during Maryland's rally from the eight-point hole.

During a six-minute stretch, Osby scored nine points, grabbed a rebound, blocked a shot, deflected a pass and collected an assist. He did everything but mimic his coach's foot stomping on the sideline.