Friday, March 13, 2009
Terps look at big picture after win
ATLANTA -- Mission halfway accomplished.
Like Virginia Tech and Miami, Maryland entered the ACC Tournament needing to win two games to revive its NCAA tournament hopes.
The seventh-seeded Terrapins got the first one Thursday, beating North Carolina State 74-69 in the first round.
"We're on a mission right now," said Greivis Vasquez, who had 17 points. "One to go."
Coach Gary Williams' Terrapins will face second-seeded Wake Forest at 7 tonight.
"We've got a chance to pretty much relive that motto that Coach Williams has of winning two to get back to the NCAA tournament," said Dave Neal, who had 10 points.
"If we come out here and play hard for 40 minutes, rebound the ball well and shoot like we did tonight, I think we've got a great chance of winning.
"Coach Williams wants to get to the NCAA tournament just as bad as anybody else, and he knew what we had to do to get to the NCAA tournament is obviously win two."
Eric Hayes had 21 points and five 3-pointers for the Terrapins (19-12), who were coming off back-to-back losses to Wake and Virginia.
Entering Thursday "you're definitely nervous because you know if you lose, you're pretty much done," Hayes said. "We did a great job of playing with those nerves."
Maryland, which went 7-9 in the ACC during the regular season, lost to the Demon Deacons 65-63 in College Park last week.
"It's not going to be easy for them to beat us," Vasquez said.
The Terrapins had gone one-and-done in the ACC Tournament the past two years, falling to a double-digit seed both times. But a late run kept them from losing to 10th-seeded State.
The Wolfpack (16-14) took a 62-61 lead on a 3-pointer by Julius Mays (18 points) with 4:12 left, but the Terrapins went on an 11-0 run to build a 72-62 cushion with 47.1 seconds left.
After Sean Mosley made a layup, Vasquez sank Maryland's ninth 3-pointer to extend the lead to 66-62.
Maryland shot 56 percent from the field in the second half.
"We showed some toughness," Vasquez said. "We showed some heart."
N.C. STATE (16-14)
T.Smith 2-6 0-1 4, Costner 2-8 0-0 5, McCauley 7-10 0-0 14, Fells 2-7 0-0 4, Gonzalez 2-3 0-0 5, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 3-5 0-0 8, Mays 7-15 1-2 18, Horner 1-5 8-8 11. Totals 26-59 9-11 69.
MARYLAND (19-12)
Milbourne 2-9 3-4 7, Neal 4-7 0-0 10, Mosley 2-5 2-4 6, Vasquez 7-16 2-2 17, Bowie 2-4 0-0 4, Hayes 5-6 6-8 21, Tucker 1-2 0-0 3, Gregory 2-4 2-3 6. Totals 25-53 15-21 74.
Halftime--Tied 29-29. 3-Point Goals--N.C. State 8-27 (Mays 3-9, Williams 2-4, Gonzalez 1-2, Costner 1-5, Horner 1-5, Fells 0-2), Maryland 9-16 (Hayes 5-6, Neal 2-2, Tucker 1-1, Vasquez 1-5, Bowie 0-2). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--N.C. State 36 (McCauley 7), Maryland 28 (Gregory 7). Assists--N.C. State 16 (Costner 4), Maryland 16 (Vasquez 10). Total Fouls--N.C. State 19, Maryland 13. A--26,352.
