Terps Wear Down Yellow Jackets

Down 10 in 2nd Half, Maryland Uses Pressure, Patience to Stage Rally: Maryland 68, Georgia Tech 61

A conference opener that held broad value in regard to Maryland's postseason aspirations hinged on the conclusion of one second-half turnover. Freshman guard Sean Mosley poked the ball out of Georgia Tech guard Maurice Miller's right hand with just more than eight minutes remaining and the Terrapins down five, then changed direction and accelerated once more.

Maryland soon was down just two, and then their deficit evaporated completely.

The Georgia Tech turnovers came early and often yesterday at Comcast Center; creating transition opportunities was not Maryland's issue. Rather, the struggle for the Terrapins was striking a balance between defensive acuity and offensive efficiency, between knowing when to be assertive and when to defer.

Eventually, Maryland found an equilibrium and, as a result, claimed a 68-61 win over Georgia Tech. The Terrapins (12-3, 1-0 ACC) understand their margin for error remains slim. A team that, on most nights in conference play, will be undersize in the post and streaky in its offensive production must maintain nearly constant defensive force to allow chances for success.

Yesterday's win further solidified Maryland's belief that its formula -- relentless, full-court pressure plus offensive patience equals a worn-out opponent by game's end -- holds merit.

"When you have to go against pressure on every play, there's a tendency to get tired, but there's also a tendency for the mental part of it, you know, where you're not quite as sharp when you're trying to run your half-court offense," Maryland Coach Gary Williams said. "I thought our pressure gave us that in the second half."

In fact, the Terrapins planted seeds for Georgia Tech's discontent before halftime. Maryland forced 18 first-half turnovers, yet shot 25 percent and made only 1 of 14 three-point attempts. That the team entered its locker room down by five points was a tribute to its defensive tenacity and an indictment of its offensive ineptitude.

Junior guard Greivis Vasquez, the team's most proficient player, made 5 of 18 shots from the field, missing all six of his three-point attempts. Though Maryland still needed Vasquez to contribute to orchestrate a comeback, it also needed him to realize that he could contribute in ways other than scoring.

After forcing the turnover with 8 minutes 7 seconds to go, Mosley drove into the lane and dished to Vasquez, cocked and ready in the corner. But rather than rush a shot to avoid an oncoming Georgia Tech defender, Vasquez pump-faked and drove toward the hole. With Yellow Jackets closing on him, Vasquez tossed the ball to junior guard Eric Hayes in the opposite corner.

"I definitely think I passed up a couple open shots early in the second half that I should have shot," said Hayes, who finished with a game-high 17 points. "A couple of guys were struggling from the floor, and I just wanted to step up for us and make some shots and get us back in the game."

He took the shot without hesitation and watched it fall through the net, bringing the Terrapins -- who had trailed by 10 less than two minutes earlier -- to within two.

The game remained tight, though Hayes's shooting (4 of 6 on three-point attempts) and Maryland's ceaseless pressure wrestled momentum away from Georgia Tech (9-6, 0-2) long before the end.

However, the confidence with which the Terrapins carried themselves contradicted Vasquez's demeanor toward his team's student section as time wound down. Throughout the game, students had implored Vasquez and several other members of the team to play better.

The post players were called out in the midst of yielding a combined 28 points and 27 rebounds from Georgia Tech's two starting forwards. The guards were called out for repeatedly missing open shots.

But the lightly coated criticism Vasquez heard shouted in his direction stuck with him. After Maryland took control of the game, he shouted obscenities at the crowd on several occasions.

"You tell me how Eric Hayes got the threes? Who passed him the ball? I did," Vasquez said. "I missed a lot of shots, but I made decisions at the end. And then I don't get credit for that, which I don't want. But I want them to support everyone on the team. I just don't like when the fans get like that."

There's a fine line, Williams said, between being brash and picking your spots. Of course, he was speaking about the team's shot selection. On a day when balance keyed a crucial victory, the lesson might prove more all-encompassing.