Postgame Notes: Maryland 96, UNC Asheville 72
12/12/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2004
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes
• The Maryland basketball team (No. 23 AP/No. 17 USA Today/ESPN) used a tremendous shooting performance and never trailed en route to a 96-72 victory over UNC Asheville Sunday afternoon at Comcast Center. Maryland has defeated the Bulldogs in the schools' only two meetings, including a 110-52 walloping in 1997 that stands as the 10th largest margin of victory in Terrapin history. UNC Asheville has never beaten an Atlantic Coast Conference squad in 42 attempts.
• Under Gary Williams, Maryland is now 104-2 against non-conference foes on their home floor. Today's win increases its current streak in those games to 14 in a row.
• After a quiet first half on the scoreboard, John Gilchrist turned it on after halftime, scoring 20 of his team-high 22 points and finished 8-of-9 from the field, in addition to dishing out 7 assists and pulling down 4 rebounds. Four other Terrapins finished in double figures, as Travis Garrison and Chris McCray each poured in 15 points, while D.J. Strawberry and Ekene Ibekwe contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively.
• Maryland shot a season-high 55 percent from the field on 38-of-69 shooting, the team's highest since a 56.4 percent performance during last year's ACC Tournament semifinal game against NC State. The Terrapin starting five (Gilchrist, McCray, Ibekwe, Garrison and Nik Caner-Medley) shot a collective 64 percent on 29-of-45 shooting. It is the third consecutive game in which the Terrapins shot better than 50 percent from the field. Strawberry connected on all five shots from the field, including all three from beyond the arc.
• By draining all 13 free-throw attempts, Maryland was perfect from the charity stripe for only the second time in team history. The only other unblemished performance was a Jan. 21, 1985 game against Holy Cross, in which the Terrapins shot a perfect 19-of-19 from the line.
• The Terps' defense held Asheville to just 7-of-31 shooting from three-point distance. Bryan McCullough led the Bulldogs with 16 points. The Terrapins forced 17 turnovers and recorded 12 steals, including three each from Ibekwe, Gilchrist and Strawberry. The defense helped Maryland to a 21-6 advantage in fast-break points and the Terps outmuscled the smaller Bulldogs down low, holding a 40-18 advantage in the paint.
• The Terps reeled off the game's first 12 points and played stout defense, holding the Bulldogs without a field goal for the opening 4:57 on their first 11 attempts. Maryland established a physical presence in the paint, scoring 8 of their first 10 points down low, pulling down 9 rebounds (4 by Ibekwe) and 3 blocks (2 by Garrison). They connected on 10 of their first 17 field goal attempts.
• The Bulldogs charged back and climbed within five points at 26-21 with 7:07 remaining. But Maryland responded with 12 straight points, including five by D.J. Strawberry, to regain a comfortable margin with just more than four minutes remaining.
• Maryland shot 54 percent from the field in the first half, with McCray's 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting leading the way to a 45-34 halftime cushion. Strawberry drilled all three of his field goal attempts and Garrison hit 4-of-6, as each collected 8 points in the opening frame. Ibekwe grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds, while Gilchrist dished out 5 assists. Still, the Bulldogs stayed within striking distance by shooting 14-of-27 from the field after their poor opening stretch.
• The Terps continued their torrid shooting after halftime by converting 10 of their first 12 field goal attempts to build a 69-47 lead eight minutes into the half. The Terps built their largest lead at 80-55 on a pair of Ibekwe free throws with 5:40 remaining.
