Dec. 28, 2004

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes |  Photo Gallery

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - First, John Gilchrist did his best impression of former Maryland star Juan Dixon. Then he spoke sheepishly about being compared to the point guard who led the Terrapins to the 2002 national championship.

Gilchrist had a season-high 28 points in just 22 minutes Tuesday night, leading No. 24 Maryland to its fourth straight victory, 112-68 over Liberty.

Ekene Ibekwe had 12 rebounds and freshman James Gist scored 14 points for the Terrapins (8-2), who led 52-19 at halftime and increased the margin to 45 points with 6:40 left.

Gilchrist led the way, becoming the first Terp to reach the 20-point mark in five consecutive games since Dixon in 2002. Gilchrist, a junior guard, hit five 3-pointers in finishing two points short of matching his career high in scoring.

"Juan Dixon was a great player. I'm just honored to be mentioned in the same breath as him," Gilchrist said. "I hope one day my jersey can be retired like his is."

Besides leading Maryland in scoring, Gilchrist's zeal was also a factor. He ran the floor with authority leading the Terrapins past the undermanned Flames (1-8).

"When a player comes out like that, with that much energy, especially the point guard, you have no choice but to follow along," forward Travis Garrison said. "That's very helpful for us. We have to do that more often."

Maryland coach Gary Williams spoke with Gilchrist over the holiday break about taking a more active leadership role, and the player readily complied.

"I just told him that all the great players do things to get the team playing, and John got off to a pretty good start in terms of being aggressive," Williams said. "John is a good player. He has the ability to make everybody else better. That's when he's really good."

Nik Caner-Medley scored 20 points to help Maryland improve to 106-2 in non-conference home games since the start of the 1989-90 season.

Larry Blair scored 30 points and Brian Woodson had 14 for Liberty, which has lost five straight. The Flames, who won the Big South title last season to advance to the NCAA tournament, are off to their worst start since the 1998-99 season.

"Obviously, we're a team struggling to find ourselves right now," Liberty coach Randy Dunton said. "You have to give Gilchrist a lot of credit for coming out and establishing himself from the (start) and just never letting down."

The Terrapins limited Liberty to 6-for-28 shooting, held a 30-14 edge in rebounding and had nine players score at least two points in the decisive first half.

The Flames had 13 turnovers and only six field goals in the first half. Blair scored five points before halftime on 2-for-7 shooting.

Liberty led 6-4 before Chris McCray and Ibekwe each scored four points in a 10-0 run that put the Terrapins ahead for good. The Flames missed nine of their first 11 shots and were outrebounded 11-5 in the opening five minutes.

After Elijah Miller ended Liberty's drought with two free throws, Gilchrist hit a 3-pointer and Caner-Medley added a dunk to make it 19-8. Blair then made a 3-pointer for the Flames before five different Terps scored in a 12-0 spree that increased the margin to 20.

Minutes later, successive baskets by Gilchrist sparked a 16-1 run that put Maryland up 52-17.

DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer