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Luke Jones

Gonzalez quickly sculpting unnerving image in Baltimore

Luke Jones

If we can take anything from the opening series of the 2010 season, we know it’s going to be interesting in the final inning. Unnerving. Agonizing. Hold on for dear life. New closer Mike Gonzalez atoned for his Opening Night debacle by preserving the first win of the season Thursday night, but the performance was anything but routine in the Orioles’ 5-4 victory over Tampa Bay. After striking out the first two batters of the ninth and appearing poised to retire the side in order, Gonzalez loaded the bases before finally enticing Ben Zobrist to fly out to right, thankfully ending a 26-pitch, 12-strike inning as Orioles fans finally breathed a sigh of relief and somewhere Earl Weaver burned through an entire pack of cigarettes. At least that’s the rumor. Gonzalez made it very clear he was anxious to return to the mound following his blown save on Tuesday night, and to his credit, he got the job done, but it couldn’t have been any shakier. It’s quickly becoming pretty apparent why few teams were beating down Gonzalez’s door last December to sign him up as their fireman. With just 54 career saves, Gonzalez had rarely been used as a

Maryland-North Carolina Notebook: Emotional Gary Williams following the win

Luke Jones

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – In the moments immediately following Maryland’s 92-71 thrashing of North Carolina on Sunday afternoon, an emotional Gary Williams had to stop at two different points to compose himself during a post-game interview with Johnny Holliday. The raucous crowd of dedicated Maryland fans braving the remains of a historic blizzard to get to Comcast Center coupled with the tremendous play of his three senior captains brought a perfect ending to an unforgettable weekend for the Maryland coach, who spent the entire weekend in College Park due to the weather. “When you coach, you don’t want any change with what you’re trying to do and what we went through with the snow trying to get ready for the game,” he said. “It wasn’t just us; they had to get [here early] and just sit around. You want to play well. We get proud of the guys when they make the effort in a little different situation, and I think we did that today.” Other highlights from Williams’ comments to the media: On his team’s mindset following the win: “Our team is interesting. We were just in the locker room with the players. It’s a great feeling obviously, but

Maryland Basketball: Terps All-Decade Team

Luke Jones

While it’s no secret the list is heavily-weighted with players from the Terps’ national championship team in 2002, Luke Jones offers his all-decade team for Maryland basketball.

Terps outlast Eastern Kentucky behind outstanding effort from Vasquez

Luke Jones

When the news surfaced that Greivis Vasquez would not start against Eastern Kentucky after being late to the Saturday morning shootaround, it appeared to be the exclamation point on a terrible start to the season for the Terps’ emotional leader. Instead, it was the catalyst for the senior guard’s finest performance of the season in Maryland’s 83-72 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday night. After sitting out the first 5:46 of the game, Vasquez scored 20 points, dished out five assists, and grabbed five rebounds while showing a more positive demeanor to lead the Terps to victory. Maryland struggled for much of the night as Eastern Kentucky provided matchup problems for the Terps defense and played to a 60-60 tie with under eight minutes to go. Vasquez led the Terps with 13 second-half points, including two 3-pointers. “I think he came out with the mindset that I’m going to have fun and hit some open shots,” said Sean Mosley, who added 13 points and six rebounds in the victory for the Terps. Maryland got off to a blazing 24-8 start, but allowed the Colonels to climb back into the game when they went on a 15-3 run. Gary Williams credited

Maryland killed on the glass, falls to Villanova 95-86

Luke Jones

No one really expected Maryland to defeat the Villanova Wildcats on Sunday night, but an upset is always possible with three seniors leading the way that have done it before. The problem is two of the three, Greivis Vasquez and Landon Milbourne, struggled at the Verizon Center, and the Terps fell to Villanova, 95-86, in the BB&T Classic despite career games from Sean Mosley and Jordan Williams. Maryland kept the game close throughout the second half but lacked the size and talent to outlast the explosive Wildcats who were led by Scottie Reynolds’ 25 points. The Terps (5-3) allowed far too many second-chance opportunities, surrendering 23 offensive rebounds while playing zone for most of the game, and could not keep up with the sharp-shooting Wildcats who attempted a school-record 39 three-pointers, making 16 of them. Mosley scored a career-high 26 points and was 11-of-14 from the field, including three three-pointers. The Baltimore sophomore is beginning to look more and more like a go-to scorer in addition to his defensive prowess and versatility. Despite cutting the lead to three with an 8-0 run early in the second half, Villanova always had an answer for the Terps who needed a better effort

Terps use zone to clamp down on Indiana, win 80-68

Luke Jones

The early stages of Tuesday night’s game in Bloomington looked painfully familiar to the Terps. With the Hoosiers beating the press and the Terps struggling to score, it suddenly looked like Assembly Hall had been transported to Maui. However, the Terps’ fortune turned when Gary Williams switched to the zone and Greivis Vasquez slowly emerged from his early-season slump to lead Maryland to an 80-68 victory over the Hoosiers. It certainly wasn’t a pretty performance as the Terps committed 19 turnovers and missed far too many shots inside the paint, but it was a much-needed road victory after the terrible showing at the Maui Invitational. Vasquez scored 23 points and went 13-for-14 from the line despite shooting only 4-of-14 from the field. The senior guard played much more within the flow of the offense after looking completely out-of-sync in Hawaii. Also needing to rebound from a poor performance in Maui, Landon Milbourne overcame foul trouble to add 19 points and 7 rebounds to help the Terps improve to 5-2 on the young season. Tom Crean’s Hoosiers could not find the shooting touch against the Maryland zone, finishing just under 33 percent from the field despite freshman Maurice Creek finishing with

Disastrous trip to Maui concludes as Terps fall to Wisconsin

Luke Jones

The Maryland Terrapins landed in Maui looking to make a statement that they were back among the elite of the ACC and deserving of a top-25 ranking after an impressive 3-0 start. Instead, Maryland looks very similar to the team that struggled to make the NCAA tournament a year ago. Following a 78-69 loss to Wisconsin in the third-place game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational, the Terps (4-2) will return to College Park having only beaten Division II Chaminade and dropping potential resume-boosting games against Cincinnati and Wisconsin. If Maryland is indeed on the bubble in March, this three-day stretch will be crippling evidence against its case. The Terps started quickly against the Badgers on Wednesday, but the fast start quickly eroded into the same story we saw against Cincinnati on Tuesday. A 7-0 Maryland lead vanished after a 16-2 run by Wisconsin, and the Terps never really recovered despite briefly retaking the lead later in the first half. Maryland shot just 59 percent from the free-throw line, was outrebounded 33-26, and simply looked a step slower than the Badgers throughout the evening. Every time the Terps would appear on the brink of going on a run to climb

Terps rebound from slow start, stomp Chaminade

Luke Jones

For the Maryland Terrapins, the Maui Invitational represents an opportunity to face some quality competition to assess where they’re at now and what they need to improve for the real season—the start of ACC play in January. And, more specifically, the first-round meeting against a Div. II opponent was just a continuation of what they started with their first three games against Charleston Southern, Fairfield, and New Hampshire. But for Chaminade, the Invitational is the Final Four, an opportunity to rub elbows with college basketball Goliaths and a hope to capture lightning in a bottle like it did against No. 1 Virginia in 1982. This contrast in perception was on full display in the first half of Maryland’s 79-51 victory in Maui on Monday night. Whether it was jet lag or looking ahead to tomorrow’s second-round meeting with Lance Stephenson and Cincinnati, the Terps struggled out of the gate, were out-rebounded and out-hustled, and trailed 16-14 with 7:30 remaining in the first half. It was clear Gary Williams was displeased with his team’s lackadaisical play, so it’s safe to assume the future Hall of Fame coach gave his players an earful at the half, leading only 36-26. And Williams clearly

Terps lose a heartbreaker in Tallahassee, 29-26

Luke Jones

Today’s meeting with Florida State was set up to be a complete disaster for Maryland. It was Senior Day and Mickey Andrews’ last game in Tallahassee. The Seminoles were fired up to wear their horrendous new alternate uniforms. An inexperienced quarterback was making his first start on the road (second overall) for a 2-8 team with nothing to play for nearing the end of a miserable season. You would be hard-pressed finding a single Terps fan who believed Maryland had much of a chance in this one. It looked like it’d be a blowout. Instead, the Terps gave one of their more impressive efforts of the year. And still lost a heartbreaker. The 29-26 loss is unquestionably disappointing after having the lead inside the final minute, but it was a gutsy effort from which the Terps can take some positives. Jamarr Robinson played as well as you could possibly expect, completing 20 of 27 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown pass to Adrian Cannon. The young quarterback looked more confident throwing the ball, displaying a very strong arm, and did not wilt under the pressure of the Tallahassee crowd. With Chris Turner’s college career wrapping up next week, Robinson’s

Maryland Basketball: Terps All-Decade Team

Luke Jones

While it’s no secret the list is heavily-weighted with players from the Terps’ national championship team in 2002, Luke Jones offers his all-decade team for Maryland basketball.

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