Terrapins Look To Extend Winning Streak To Seven Games
12/8/2001 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2001
Maryland looks to extend its winning streak to seven games when it plays host to Detroit on Sunday.
After losing its first game of the season to Arizona, the third-ranked Terrapins (6-1) have bounced back. Lonny Baxter had 24 points and 10 rebounds as Maryland beat Connecticut 77-65 on Monday to win the BB&T Classic tournament at the MCI Center.
Juan Dixon scored 16 points, Tahj Holden had 15 and Steve Blake contributed nine assists.
"They're tough to beat because of their size and because they shoot the ball well, but I was most impressed by the way they played so well with each other," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "Maryland gave our kids a good lesson on how to play team basketball."
Baxter is one of the top players on the talented Maryland team, yet the Terrapins have proven they can win without him. The 6-foot-8 senior center was limited to five points last week against Illinois, but Maryland cruised to a 76-63 victory.
Against UConn, however, Baxter was clearly the most dominant player on the court.
"That man is solid. We're going to go to him until we can't go to him anymore," said Dixon, who leads the team in scoring with 19.4 points. "We start off getting the ball inside to see what he can do with it. If he's scoring and just killing the guys inside, we just keep going to him. He had a great tournament."
Baxter, who went 8-for-10 from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line, was an overwhelming selection as tournament MVP. Baxter is Maryland's second-leading scorer with 16 points to go along with his team-high 9.0 rebounds a game.
Detroit (4-2) is coming off a 93-67 loss at Oakland last Wednesday. The Titans had won four in a row since a season-opening 80-70 loss to powerhouse Michigan State.
Oakland's 93 points matched the most given up by Detroit since a 93-62 loss to Dayton in 1993-94.
Willie Green had 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the Titans. Green is averaging a team-high 16.3 points a game.
