Associated Press

Virginia's Sylven Landesberg dribbles against Maryland's Sean Mosley. Landesberg scored 12 points in the loss.

Associated Press

Maryland's Greivis Vasquez (right) defends against Virginia's Will Sherrill (22). Maryland's Landon Milbourne chases.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Virginia's Cavaliers put on a President's Day exhibition Monday that might have caused Thomas Jefferson to disown them.

Defensive-minded UVa gave up 52 points in the first half, 25 by Maryland senior guard Greivis Vasquez, and the Terrapins coasted to an 85-66 victory at the Comcast Center.

The Terrapins (17-7, 7-3 ACC) led by 29 points on two occasions in the second half.

"I don't know if we could get any lower than this," said Virginia junior Sammy Zeglinski, one of five Cavaliers who had a defensive turn on Vasquez.

"There are no excuses for the way we played."

It was the second game in less than 48 hours for Virginia, but Maryland was in a similar position. The Terrapins trailed by as many as 24 points Saturday in a 77-56 loss at Duke.

A rare Monday night conference game was the result of a snowstorm that caused postponement of a game that originally was scheduled for last Wednesday.

First-year Virginia coach Tony Bennett was a veteran of quick, Thursday-Saturday turnarounds in the Pac-10, where he coached for three years at Washington State. He didn't think there was any reason for a letdown against the Terps.

Virginia (14-9, 5-5) was coming off a 61-55 loss at Virginia Tech, where the Cavaliers had the lead going into the last two minutes. In fact, the Cavaliers had been competitive in almost all of their losses.

"They were leading the league in all of the offensive stats and you could see how potent they were," Bennett said of the Terps, "but it can't be that easy on our part."

Bennett couldn't say if one of his teams had ever allowed a team to shoot 70 percent from the field, as Maryland did in a 21-for-30 first half.

"If I did, I blocked it out," he said. "I think I went to counseling to get that out of my head."

Vasquez's 25-point first half was equally rare.

"Best I've seen him," said UVa forward Mike Scott, a junior who has been playing against Vasquez for three years. "He just got whatever he wanted."

The Cavaliers, saddled with their second three-game losing streak, had played well enough defensively to give themselves a chance in back-to-back losses to Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, but offensive production had been lacking.

Bennett had lamented the absence of a third scorer after Scott and Sylven Landesberg combined for 39 of UVa's 55 points Saturday, but the Cavaliers had a third double-figure scorer Monday.

Junior guard Jeff Jones came off the bench to score 12 points in the first half and finished with 16 points, tying Scott for team scoring honors. Landesberg had 12.

Landesberg and Scott came out of the game for good with 4:27 remaining, possibly with an eye toward a 7 p.m. Wednesday meeting with Florida State in Charlottesville.

"I don't think fatigue was a factor tonight and I don't think it would have been a factor Wednesday if we had played 40 minutes," Landesberg said. "It was just really frustrating out there and the frustration only grew after I came out."

Maryland shot 56.3 percent for the game and outrebounded the Cavaliers 42-28. UVa post players Jerome Meyinsse, Will Sherrill and Assane Sene did not corral a single defensive rebound in a combined 24 first-half minutes.

"I told our guys to compete as hard as they did on Saturday and to battle," Bennett said.

"To come out this flat was really frustrating. We have 48 hours to turn around and it will be a gut-check time against a good team.

"I think we took a step back. We weren't who I thought we had to be. And, I tell our guys, 'I can handle a loss,' but not like that. And, we have to respond."

In all fairness, Virginia would have had difficulty countering Vasquez under the best of circumstances.

He finished with 30 points, hitting 12 of 19 shots from the field, and contributed eight rebounds and five assists without a turnover in 34 minutes.

"I am not big on individual play usually," Maryland coach Gary Williams said, "but the way Greivis played tonight was exceptional. It wasn't easy to get ready and play this game tonight, but the way we started the first half tonight really set the tone."

VIRGINIA (14-9)

Evans 3-6 0-0 6, Scott 5-8 6-7 16, Landesberg 5-13 1-2 12, Zeglinski 0-4 0-0 0, Meyinsse 0-1 2-2 2, Sene 0-0 2-2 2, Baker 1-4 0-0 2, Sherrill 1-5 0-0 2, Jones 5-11 5-5 16, Spurlock 1-2 2-2 4, Farrakhan 1-4 2-2 4, Kody 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 20-22 66.

MARYLAND (17-7)

Milbourne 7-11 0-1 14, Hayes 4-6 1-1 10, Mosley 0-3 0-0 0, Williams 5-8 1-5 11, Vasquez 12-19 4-4 30, Levent 1-2 0-0 2, Bowie 0-2 0-0 0, Pearman 0-1 0-0 0, Tucker 3-5 0-0 7, Gregory 2-2 3-3 7, Padgett 2-5 0-1 4. Totals 36-64 9-15 85.

Halftime--Maryland 52-34. 3-Point Goals--Virginia 2-16 (Landesberg 1-2, Jones 1-4, Farrakhan 0-1, Spurlock 0-1, Baker 0-2, Zeglinski 0-2, Sherrill 0-4), Maryland 4-8 (Vasquez 2-4, Tucker 1-1, Hayes 1-2, Pearman 0-1). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Virginia 28 (Scott 6), Maryland 42 (Williams 11). Assists--Virginia 8 (Landesberg 2), Maryland 22 (Hayes 9). Total Fouls--Virginia 20, Maryland 19. A--NA.