Jan. 20, 2005

Recap |  Box Score |  Quotes

• The Maryland basketball team improved to 11-4 overall and evened its conference record at 2-2 Wednesday night with a hard-fought 82-68 win over border rival Virginia. The Terps have won their last three contests with the Cavaliers, and 16 of the last 23. Maryland stayed undefeated at home, winning its ninth straight game in College Park to start the season. The Terps have won 10 in a row overall at Comcast Center, their last defeat coming Feb. 28, 2004 at the hands of Wake Forest.
• Head Coach Gary Williams tied former Virginia coach Terry Holland for fifth place among the ACC's all-time winningest coaches. He is now 326-169 overall at the helm of the Terps. The win also moves Williams into a tie for fourth place with former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins for ACC wins. Williams currently stands at 134 conference victories, as does Cremins, who directed the Yellow Jackets from 1982-2000.
• Junior guard Chris McCray was back in the starting lineup for Williams and the Terps after sitting out against Temple with a bruised tailbone. In 28 minutes, he scored 12 and grabbed seven rebounds. McCray's return helped to offset the absence of sophomore guard D.J. Strawberry, who will miss the rest of the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in practice. The team leader in steals with 24, Strawberry had started three of the last four games for the Terps.
• Junior forward Nik Caner-Medley burst out of the gate strong for the Terps, scoring 10 of their first 20 points on 3-of-4 shooting, including 1-of-2 from three-point land and two offensive rebounds. He finished the first half with a team-high 15 points, as well as four rebounds in 19 minutes.
• After trailing by as many as nine in the opening half, the Cavs went on an 11-3 run to assume the lead at 35-32 on a pull-up jumper by J.R. Reynolds. The Terps fought right back with a 6-0 run of their own, reclaiming the lead at 38-35.
• At halftime, the Cavs owned a slim one-point lead over Maryland, 41-40. Devin Smith led Virginia with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He also recorded five rebounds, a block and a steal.
• Virginia began the second half on an 8-2 run courtesy of two Sean Singletary three-pointers and a pair of free throws by Elton Brown. McCray answered for Maryland, scoring on an offensive put back, then stealing the ball on the ensuing Virginia possession and feeding a streaking John Gilchrist for an easy transition bucket at 18:00.
• Caner-Medley scored seven straight points for Maryland to tie the game at 53. The 6-foot-8 forward drove to the hoop for a contested layup and then, on the very next possession, drilled a three-pointer from the corner with 15:15 remaining. He scored again with 14:34 left on an in-bounds pass to knot the game. Caner-Medley finished the night with a team-high 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including 4-for-8 from three-point territory and seven rebounds. It marked the third straight game he led the team in scoring and sixth overall this season. Over his last three games, Caner-Medley has averaged 27.3 points.
• Ekene Ibekwe followed Caner-Medley's spurt with one of his own, scoring seven consecutive points to give Maryland a seven-point edge with 12:24 left. Ibekwe threw down a thunderous dunk, hit a fade-away jumper from the free-throw line and then converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Terps a 60-53 lead.
• After leading his team in scoring in the first half, Devin Smith was scoreless for the Cavs through 16:34 of the second frame. Tight defense by McCray helped to hold Smith to just two points for the half.
• Maryland received a boost in the front court from its reserves. Backup center Will Bowers was a presence in the middle, recording a career-high three blocks to go along with two points and two rebounds in 21 minutes. Freshman James Gist was active around the ball and on the glass, scoring four points and pulling down two boards.
• Point guard John Gilchrist lead the team in assists with seven, just two shy of his career-high, which he has reached on three occasions. He also added 13 points.
• The Terps blocked 11 shots, tying their season-high. They also rejected 11 against Jackson State in the season opener. Maryland, which has 101 rejections on the season, is among the national leaders in that category.
• Maryland had four players score in double figures. Caner-Medley (26), Gilchrist (13), Ibekwe (12) and McCray (12) accounted for 77 percent of Maryland's offense.