Nov. 25, 2003

Recap| Box Score| Quotes| Photo Gallery

* The Maryland basketball team (No. 24 USA Today/ESPN, receiving votes AP) defeated George Mason 79-64 Tuesday night at Comcast Center and improved to 2-0 on the 2003-04 season. Maryland remains a perfect 6-0 all-time against their Beltway rival. It is the second consecutive year that the Terps have won its first two games and 10th time in Gary Williams' 15 years that Maryland has gotten off to a perfect start after two games.

* For the 21st consecutive year, Maryland has won its first two games at either Cole Field House or Comcast Center and have now won five straight contests at their new home dating to last season.

* Three Terrapins set new career-high point totals as Nik Caner-Medley's team-high 23 points, Jamar Smith's 19 points and D. J. Strawberry's nine points broke their previous bests, while John Gilchrist matched his personal high, also notching 11 points.

* Smith's 19-point, 13-rebound performance was his second straight double-double, following up on a 14-point, 12-rebound performance in the season opener against American. Smith also swished his first career three-pointer from the right wing with 13:30 remaining in the first half to give Maryland a 22-16 advantage.

* Caner-Medley shattered his previous high by halftime (previously a 14-point game against Georgia Tech on Feb. 9, 2003), as he led the offensive effort with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He also had seven rebounds and three assists in the game.

* Strawberry had the best game of his young Terrapin career, as his emphatic dunk late in the game gave him a new personal high of nine points. He also had four rebounds and four assists in just 18 minutes of action.

* Gilchrist's last-minute runner gave him 11 points, tying a previous high set against North Carolina on Feb. 22, 2003. He tied Strawberry with a team-high four assists.

* The Terrapins got balanced contributions from throughout its lineup as eight Terps got into the scoring column, seven had at least four rebounds and six Terps had at least two assists.

* Andre Collins made his first career start and had an early impact with a short leaner, defensive rebound and a dish to Jamar Smith in one quick sequence early in the first half.

* Maryland connected on its first four shots - three by Chris McCray -- to build an early lead in the fast-paced start.

* By the first TV timeout at the 11:10 mark of the first half, Maryland had raced to a 28-20 lead in the up-and-down affair. Maryland's largest first half lead came at the 6:46 mark of the first half, when they grabbed a 34-22 advantage. The Patriots responded with a 16-7 half-ending run to cut the deficit to 41-38 at the break.

* Maryland converted on its second-chance opportunities in the first half, outscoring the Patriots 16-4 in that department. The Terps also outran their opponents for an 8-0 first-half advantage in fast-break points.

* George Mason also came out strong in the second half, scoring nine of the first 11 points, before Maryland went on an 8-0 spurt to retake the lead at 51-47 with 14:22 remaining in the game. Maryland extended their run to 14-3, taking a 57-50 lead at the 12:00 mark of the second half.

* John Gilchrist's three-pointer from the top of the key, two D.J. Strawberry fast-break buckets and a pair of Caner-Medley free throws gave Maryland a 66-54 lead, its largest second-half lead to that point.

* Maryland continued their strong defensive play with 12 steals and seven blocks for the game.