COLLEGE PARK, MD - Maryland (10-4, 1-0) opened its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule Sunday by defeating 18th ranked Florida State (13-3, 1-1) 77-68. Coming off an offensive explosion led by Greivis Vasquez in a win against UNC Greensboro, Maryland looked to prove that they could sustain a high level of play against an opponent of Florida State’s stature—who boasts a seven game winning streak with superb defense and overall tough post-play led by potential All-American center Solomon Alabi.

 

Alabi’s rising stock and blocks per game average (2.9) were not enough to deter Maryland from going hard in the paint; in fact, it may have encouraged them to. In one of the first plays of the game Maryland blocked an Alabi attempt in the paint and within three minutes of the tip Alabi was on the bench with two personal fouls as the Terps fed freshman Jordan Williams in the paint; Williams was able to draw Alabi’s second foul on a nifty pump fake and shot attempt as the Florida State sophomore fouled him on the move.

“We knew who was on (Alabi) and we tried to get the ball to where he had to cover a couple of times, said Coach Williams.” “Alabi’s a great player, he’s going to be a lottery pick at some point in his career and you have to hope you get lucky and get him to the bench early.”

Maryland was then able to get off their next six points on easy scores in the paint on their way to 16 points from in close for the first half.

Terps’ big man, Williams also found himself in foul trouble as he was forced to sit with about 13 minutes remaining in the half, but forwards Landon Milbourne and James Padgett were able to fill in the void left by Williams’ hustle with tough play of their own on their way to four rebounds apiece and a Maryland rebound advantage of 20-12 for the half.

Maryland’s defense was stout, holding the Seminoles to below 35% shooting for most of the half. And while Maryland was able to shoot 51.6%, their ridiculously careless turnovers kept what could have been a 25 point lead to a 14 point lead. Maryland’s turnovers were so unnecessary. The Terps recorded eight turnovers in the first half, none of which were Florida State steals. The Seminoles entered Sunday’s game number two in the ACC in steals but could not record a single steal against Maryland.

Maryland was able to grab the lead on the strength of seniors Eric Hayes (4-6) and Milbourne’s (5-7) hot shooting as each had 11 points. Maryland’s hot shooting was facilitated by eight team assists and nine offensive rebounds which led to nine second chance points.

At halftime, Maryland was rolling up the Seminoles to a score of 41-27.

A close out in the second half did not go as planned for Maryland as the Seminoles came out of the gates aggressively hitting 7 of 13 shots and holding Maryland to only 25% shooting. The Seminoles were also able to force three turnovers and a couple late in the shot clock heaves by Maryland to bring the lead to within 51-47 with about ten minutes remaining in the game.

“They came out and played hard (in the second half),” said Coach Williams. “There’s a reason why they are a ranked team they knew they had to play better than they did in the first half if they wanted to defeat us and I thought they came out and give us a good hit but we took their hit and we were able to get it settled down.”

That’s when Vasquez ignited an 11-2 run for Maryland capped off by a fast break, fade away three-point basket—followed by what can only be described as a violent emotional shoulder shimmy, that gave Maryland a 62-49 lead and threw the Terrapin crowd into a frenzy.

“I’m praying in that situation,” Coach Williams jokingly said when asked about Vasquez’s choice of shot in that instance. “He’s earned that right. If he feels like he can make that shot, he’s going to take it...he wants the ball in big situations.”

Vasquez’s punch to the gut, although heavy, was not a knockout blow as the Seminoles’ Alabi was able to shake of his slow start to score his tenth point of the half on a put-back slam that brought his team to within eight points of the lead at 70-62. Led by Chris singleton’s 12 points and 12 rebounds at the four minute mark Florida State was poised for a run but it was now time for Maryland to close out.

And offensively, they did just that. Every time Florida State scored Maryland was able to answer with a score of its own and with time running low, the Seminoles could not afford to trade baskets with the Terps. But trade baskets they did, and with a seven point lead and under two minutes to play, the Terps had themselves an upset in the making as the final buzzer sounded and Maryland was able to walk off victorious 77-68.

Maryland’s victory was not just any win, it was a statement win. While the Terps have blown out teams this season, they had also lost to teams many had expected them to defeat. This Seminoles team came into Sunday’s game ranked number one in the ACC in field goal percentage defense and overall scoring defense but Maryland was able to put up 77 points against the Seminoles (tied FSU season high) and do so on 46.8% shooting from the field and going 10-16 from three-point range.

Maryland has snapped a dominant team’s winning streak at seven and is looking to continue one of their own on Tuesday, January 11th against Wake Forest (11-3, 1-1).