Nov. 23, 2007

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) _ Maryland backed up another solid defensive effort with a breakthrough performance on the other end.

Greivis Vasquez scored 17 of his 22 points after halftime, and the Terrapins pulled away to a 72-51 victory over Lehigh on Friday.

"Overall, this is the best game we've had on the offensive end," Vasquez said. "We put a lot of emphasis on the offense all week. I was pretty concerned with running the offense better, and I think we did a pretty good job of it. We were making easy passes and hitting the wide open man so we could have better shots."

The Terrapins (4-2) used a 15-0 run to turn a precarious 5-point lead into a 58-38 advantage with 9:37 to go. Vasquez scored seven points during the stretch, which lasted more than seven minutes.

"It happened on both ends of the court," Terps coach Gary Williams said. "We kept our defense where it was, and really executed and got great looks (on offense). It takes being able to pass the basketball, and passing it to the right guy when he's open. We haven't been doing that, but we did a better job today. I'd like to think we're making progress."

James Gist had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds for Maryland, which snapped a two-game skid. The Terrapins played without center Bambale Osby, who had a stomach virus. His replacement, freshman Braxton Dupree, scored 14 in his first college start.

Rob Keefer and Matt Szalachowski each scored 12 for Lehigh (2-3). The Mountain Hawks hung with the Terrapins before opening the second half by going 3-for-15 from the floor with seven turnovers.

"I think we ultimately got out of sync," Lehigh coach Brett Reed said. "We had some shots we didn't make and a few turnovers that led to some easy possessions. ... I give them credit for their defense, but by the same token, we have to make plays during that situation."

Maryland led 43-38 before Gist made a follow-shot. After a stretch in which neither team scored for nearly two minutes, Vasquez sank a 3-pointer from the right corner to make it 48-38 with 13:51 remaining.

Vasquez then hit a jumper, Adrian Bowie followed with a layup and Gist scored on an alley-oop. Baskets by Vasquez and Jerome Burney completed the 15-point blitz.

Maryland won despite going 11-for-21 at the foul line and getting out-rebounded 36-34.

Dupree had 10 points and five rebounds in the first half, and the Terrapins forced the Mountain Hawks into nine turnovers in taking a 38-31 lead.

Successive baskets by Dupree out Maryland up 11-7, but Lehigh went in front for the only time when Phil Anderson hit a 3-pointer to make it 17-16. Eric Hayes then made a layup to put the Terrapins ahead to stay.

It was 20-19 before Gist made a layup and freshman Cliff Tucker hit two straight 5-foot jumpers for a 7-point lead. A three-point play by Gist made it 31-23, and minutes later Hayes drilled a shot from beyond the arc to expand the margin to 10.

Lehigh eventually cut the gap, but couldn't overcome its 19 turnovers.

"In order to beat a team like this, we have to playing on all cylinders," Reed said. "Unfortunately, we were a little less than perfect."