COLLEGE PARK, Md.--The Virginia men's basketball team got a taste of life on the road in the ACC with a 91-79 loss at No. 25 Maryland last night.
The Cavaliers (15-6, 5-3 ACC) could not contain the Terrapin triumvirate of Lonny Baxter, Terence Morris and Juan Dixon, who combined for 61 points. Baxter controlled the inside, scoring a game-high 24 points and totaling 18 second-half points, many off dunks and easy layups. The Terp sophomore center also contributed his tough interior defense, limiting the Cavs inside.
"Maryland is a big physical team and they played very well" last night, Virginia Coach Pete Gillen said. "Lonny Baxter did anything he wanted against whoever was on him."
Morris, the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, grabbed 11 rebounds, helping boost the Terps (15-6, 4-4) to an 18-board advantage over the Cavaliers. The silky-smooth Morris was able to go inside and outside to finish with 18 points.
"It wasn't a rebounding night for anyone on our squad," Virginia center Travis Watson said. "Terence did a good job and I compliment him on that."
The Cavs managed to stay in the game because of their long-range efficiency, knocking down nine treys. Second-year forward Chris Williams posted team highs with 22 points and six boards. Swingman Adam Hall managed 14, including three trifectas. Guards Keith Friel and Majestic Mapp both hit two shots from behind the arc, but Williams seemed to be the only Cav finding success from the inside.
"Chris Williams did a good job for us, but our other guys just didn't step up," Gillen said.
Third-year point guard Donald Hand struggled offensively, finishing with five points on 1-of-9 shooting, and was plagued with foul trouble throughout most of the second half. Hand, who has led the Cavs recently, started slowly and found it tough to work against Maryland's suffocating defense.
"I had a terrible night and in order for us to win it has to start with me," Hand said. "They had pretty good team defense. I got by [Maryland point guard Steve] Blake, but the team defense collapsed on me."
The capacity crowd of 14,500 spurred the Terps to their fifth consecutive victory over Virginia and eighth straight win at Cole Field House over the Cavs. The loss also snaps the Cavaliers five-game winning streak with two games remaining in a difficult four-game road trip.
Maryland went to the line 38 times, while the Cavaliers managed only 19 free throw attempts.
"They did a good job running their half court offense," Mapp said. "Not any excuses, but I just think the refs took us out of our usual aggressive play of defense. Usually, we're aggressive and we get steals. [Last night] we couldn't get any steals due to the fact that every call was a foul. Not to say that's an excuse, but when you're down five and down eight and every call is a foul and they go to the line when they want to, it's hard to get back up."
The road-weary Cavs will find no relief when they try to avenge their Jan. 5 overtime home loss to Duke Saturday in Durham.
"They have a great team, so we just have to go back to the drawing charts and work hard for the next one," Hand said.
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