Nov. 23, 2004

Recap |  Box Score |  Quotes

• The Maryland basketball team (No. 13 AP/No. 14 USA Today/ESPN) continued its dominance of non-conference opponents at home Tuesday night, using a balanced performance on both ends of the floor to roll to a 93-67 win over Mercer in the teams' first-ever meeting.

• Under Gary Williams, Maryland is now 103-2 against non-conference foes on their home floor. Tonight's win increases its current streak in those games to 13 in a row.

• Five Terps scored in double figures, with Nik Caner-Medley's 21 points (9-of-14 from the field) leading the way. It was his biggest output since posting the same point total on Jan. 21, 2004 vs. Duke. Chris McCray poured in 15 points and a career-high 9 rebounds. John Gilchrist totaled 14 points and 6 assists, while D.J. Strawberry turned in an impressive 13-point performance on 4-of-5 shooting. Freshman James Gist also reached the double-digit mark with 10 points for the first time in his promising collegiate career.

• Maryland played especially well on the defensive end for the second straight game, forcing 28 turnovers and rejecting 9 Mercer shots. In two games this season, Terrapin opponents have an average of 27.5 miscues. Gilchrist and McCray each had 4 takeaways to lead a 14-steal effort. Five Terps grabbed at least five boards for the second straight game, helping Maryland to out-rebound the Bears 51-34 (21-9 on the offensive end).

• The Terrapins would never trail in the game, opening its largest lead at 83-52 on McCray's follow lay-in with about seven minutes remaining. That basket capped a 16-3 run that put the game well out of reach. On five of six Mercer possessions during the burst, Maryland had five thefts that helped extend the advantage.

• Mercer forward Will Emerson single-handedly kept the Bears within striking distance early, scoring his team's first 11 points. Seven Terps dented the scoreboard in the game's first nine minutes, as Maryland jumped to a 27-15 lead until Mercer responded with eight in a row to close the gap to four points with 7:46 remaining.

• After James Odoms, among the nation's top returning three-point shooters, drilled a three-pointer with 5:58 remaining (his only trey of the first half) to pull Mercer within 34-28, Maryland would close the half on a 15-3 spurt (holding Mercer without a field goal in the final 4:22) to take a 49-31 lead into the locker room. Juniors Caner-Medley and McCray paced a balanced effort with 13 and 11 points, respectively. McCray pulled down a half-high 7 rebounds and added 3 steals and 2 blocks on the defensive end. Gist knocked down all four of his field goal attempts and finished the half with 8 points and 2 blocks in 12 minutes of action.

• Maryland established a post-presence on both ends, collecting 12 rebounds on both the offensive and defensive glass, outscoring Mercer 24-12 in the paint. The Terps were also perfect in seven trips to the free-throw line in the opening half. Mercer was flustered by the Terrapins' pressure defense, which led to 13 Bears' turnovers and 6 Maryland rejections

• Emerson needed less than 16 minutes to establish a new career-high, as his three-pointer with 4:21 remaining in the first half gave him 16 points, topping his previous high of 15 set Saturday vs. Albany State. Emerson finished with 21 points and Odoms contributed 16 points.

• 10 Terps got into the scoring column, including senior Mike Grinnon, whose late three-pointer brought the crowd to its feet.