Jan. 4, 2005

Recap |  Box Score |  Quotes

• The Maryland basketball team (No. 22 AP/No. 21 USA Today/ESPN) overpowered in-state foe Mount St. Mary's with a late first-half run and breezed to an 85-53 victory over the Mountaineers Tuesday night at Comcast Center as the Terps continue to dominate their Old Line State rivals, having won all five contests by an average of 30.2 points. The Terrapins finished off a perfect five-game homestand, as they prepare for conference play that kicks into high gear on Saturday at North Carolina.

• Under Gary Williams, Maryland is now 108-2 against non-conference foes on their home floor. Tonight's win increases its current streak in those games to 18 in a row. Williams improves to 33-1 against in-state schools, with his only loss coming to Coppin State back in 1989.

• John Gilchrist and Nik Caner-Medley scored 17 points apiece and Travis Garrison added 15 points. Five other Terps scored at least five points in a game that marked the lowest scoring output by a Terrapin opponent this season.

• Maryland easily outrebounded its opponents for the second straight game, posting a 52-38 advantage on the boards. Coupled with a 61-30 margin on the glass against Liberty last time out, Maryland has outrebounded its previous two opponents by an average of more than 22 boards per game. James Gist and Ekene Ibekwe led Maryland with eight rebounds apiece, while Garrison pulled down seven (five on the offensive end) and Caner-Medley and Will Bowers each corralled six loose balls.

• Maryland's defense came to play, holding the Mountaineers to just 29.7 percent shooting. Caner-Medley provided an aggressive presence in 19 minutes of action and Maryland outhustled their opponents for loose balls during much of the game, forcing 24 Mountaineer miscues that translated into a 29-3 advantage in points off turnovers. Gist and Chris McCray each registered four steals and Gilchrist added three more as the Terrapins finished with 17 takeaways, compared to just eight for Mount St. Mary's.

• As a team, Maryland drained 21-of-26 free throws (80.8 percent), its third best performance of the season.

• Gilchrist roared out of the gates with a strong opening eight minutes, draining his first three field goal attempts for seven points, grabbing three rebounds and intercepting a Mount pass to pace the Terps early. After the Mountaineers had closed to 15-12, Gist sparked a 9-0 burst, wowing the crowd by corralling a missed field goal with his right hand and slamming the ball home in one motion. Bowers then put back a missed field goal on the next possession while being fouled. His ensuing free throw gave Maryland a 20-12 lead.

• The Mountaineers would close to within 26-20 at the eight-minute mark, but Maryland ended the half on a 21-5 run to open up a 47-25 halftime lead. The Terrapins employed its half-court press to force Mount St. Mary's into multiple miscues that resulted in easy Maryland points. Gilchrist stole a ball in the backcourt and glided in for a lay-in and foul to start the blitz during which six different Terps scored. Caner-Medley had all nine of his first half points during the closing stretch on a three-point field goal, dunk and making all four attempts from the charity stripe. Sterling Ledbetter registered his first collegiate field goal, with a driving lay-up in the final minute of first half action. He finished with a career-high six points on 2-of-3 shooting.

• Maryland dominated in nearly every statistical category in the opening stanza. They shot 51.5 percent from the field (holding the Mount to 31 percent shooting) and shot a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, outrebounded their opponents 23-13, and outscored the Mountaineers in the paint 22-6; off turnovers 19-2; and on the fast break 12-3. All 10 Terps who saw playing time in the half scored at least two points.

• Gilchrist scored 10 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting and five Terrapins had at least three rebounds. McCray accounted for three of Maryland's eight first half steals and Gilchrist had two takeaways as the team forced 12 turnovers.

• Maryland put the game out of reach early in the second half, extending its lead to 59-28 on a three-pointer from Garrison with 16:25 remaining. The Terps never looked back, increasing its lead to as many as 38 points when Ibekwe nailed a jumper from just inside the three-point line to give Maryland a 75-37 advantage.