Nov. 18, 2003

Recap| Box Score| Quotes

* The Maryland basketball team (No. 25 USA Today/ESPN, RV AP) fell to the Roanoke Dazzle 81-72 in their final exhibition tuneup of the season Tuesday at Comcast Center. This is the first time the Terps have played a team from the National Basketball Development League. Teams from the NBDL are now 1-5 against college squads in the preseason with one other contest yet to be played.

* The last time Maryland lost an exhibition contest was in the 1993-94 preseason, when the Terps were downed by the Australia All-Stars in Cole Field House. That Terrapin team, featuring freshmen Joe Smith, Keith Booth and Matt Kovarik, would go on to post an 18-12 record and reach the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen. That appearance was the Terps' first in their current streak of 10 postseason berths in a row.

* Seven-foot-one freshman center Will Bowers and six-foot-nine forward Ekene Ibekwe each started, and Bowers' first career three-pointer from the corner just more than three minutes into the game was the Terps' first field goal. Both freshmen led the early defensive effort by rejecting Roanoke shots in the game's opening minute.

* Maryland scored the game's first 10 points -- holding Roanoke scoreless for the first 5:33 -- and built a 16-2 lead by the 12:30 mark of the first half. The Terps' largest lead of the half came with 4:04 remaining at 35-17. A 13-3 half-ending run by the Dazzle cut the margin to 38-30 at the break.

* Maryland took advantage of Roanoke's 17 first half turnovers, outscoring the Dazzle 26-2 in points off turnovers, incluing the first 23 in the game, all coming within the first 16 minutes of action. For the game, Maryland turned 27 turnovers into 30 points. They also dominated first-half action in the paint, outscoring Roanoke inside 16-2.

* John Gilchrist opened the game on fire, racking up a team-high 11 points in the first half on four-of-six shooting and going three-of-four from the line. He finished with 16 points on six-of-eleven shooting and added a team-high four assists.

* Jamar Smith matched Gilchrist's entire first-half output in the first 10 minutes of the second half, going five-of-eight from the floor and one-of-two from the charity stripe to raise his overall numbers to seven-of-thirteen shooting and three-of-five from the floor for seventeen points. Smith finished with 19 points on the night.

* Big man Travis Garrison collected six rebounds in each half for a game-high total of 12 in just nineteen minutes of work.

* Maryland's five freshmen contributed on several occasions Tuesday, finishing with 16 points. Ibekwe led the way with seven points, while D.J. Strawberry, Bowers and Hassan Fofana finished with four, three and two points, respectively.