COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- This is one that got away. After leading by as many as 14 points in the first half, Virginia (11-9, 5-5 ACC) frittered away its lead and succumbed to a furious late charge by Maryland (15-7, 5-4 ACC), falling 76-65 to the Terrapins at the Comcast Center in College Park.
"We got stagnant and started standing in our zone," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "We weren't guarding people in our area. They were attacking, and we weren't responding to that challenge. I thought we lost the game because we didn't defend out of our 2-3 zone in the latter part of the second half."
With the score tied at 60 with 3:09 remaining in the second half, Maryland exploded for a 13-0 run that effectively ended Virginia's hope for a victory. The run was ignited by an Ekene Ibekwe jumper, which was followed by a Mike Jones three-pointer. Jones was wide open in the corner because of a missed defensive assignment by Virginia forward Jason Cain.
"We lost focus," sophomore point guard Sean Singletary said. "We lost execution and defensive intensity and that is how they [Maryland] got back into the game."
Maryland's offense was led by junior guard D.J. Strawberry, who scored a career-high 19 points on six-of-13 shooting. After trailing the entire game, the Terrapins tied the game at 51 with 8:09 remaining on a Strawberry three-pointer. Jones hit three of eight shots from behind the arc and finished with 15 points.
Virginia started off the game strong, scoring the first 13 points. Maryland did not score a bucket until the 16:11 mark, when Jones connected from long range. Forward Adrian Joseph knocked down two first-half three-pointers as well as a lay-up off an offensive rebound, but the sophomore was held scoreless in the second half. Cain also had a productive first half with nine points before being held to two in the second half. Maryland got back to within three points of Virginia at two moments late in the first half but the Cavaliers had rebuilt a solid lead, 38-30, by the time the halftime buzzer sounded.
"[At the start of the game] we played with a collective focus and energy," Leitao said. "We talked about getting off to a good start, and, to our credit, we did."
Sophomore guard J.R. Reynolds, who finished tied with Singletary for a team-high 18 points, gave Virginia a 41-30 lead in the opening moments of the second half, prompting Maryland coach Gary Williams to call a 30-second timeout. The Cavaliers held on to a comfortable lead until about 10 minutes were left in the game. Over a three minute span, Maryland took the lead for the first time on an 11-0 run that culminated with two Ibekwe free throws. The lead then changed four times over the next four minutes before Maryland reeled off the 13-point run that sent the Cavaliers scurrying back to Charlottesville.
The victory ended Maryland's three-game losing streak.
"We needed this win badly, and it felt great," Strawberry said. "Everybody did their job today."
The win marked a milestone for Williams. It was his 349th victory at Maryland, and he moved past Lefty Driesell to become the all-time winningest basketball coach in school history.
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