SPOKANE, Wash. — Jordan Williams knew he had an advantage going up against Houston in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
After getting a rapid education the last three months going up against rugged ACC front lines, Williams knew he’d be the tallest player on the court against the Cougars, who are known for their frenetic, three-point happy style.
With that luxury, the Terrapin men’s basketball forward understood he and his teammates just needed to stick to the game plan to have success Friday night.
In his first NCAA Tournament game, the strategy worked to perfection.
Williams delivered career-highs in points and rebounds as the No. 4 seed Terps wore down No. 13 seed Houston 89-77 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Terps used an early second-half run to create the distance necessary to cruise to their 10th straight first round tournament win.
They advanced to Sunday’s second round, where they’ll meet No. 5 seed Michigan State, which moved on with a 70-67 win against New Mexico State.
“It’s a big stage,” said Williams, who had his seventh career double-double by halftime and finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds. “You definitely want to perform well for your teammates and your coaches, and I think that tonight my teammates did a good job getting me the ball and trusting me.”
The Terps (24-8) dominated on the boards with a 50-29 rebounding advantage and maneuvered around a game-high 26-point effort from Houston star Aubrey Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer. Forward Landon Milbourne added 19 points — his largest offensive output since Jan. 3 — to further boost the Terps’ resurgence inside that included a 20-point advantage in points in the paint.
“We really stressed that the last couple days in practice to make sure we understood that there were points to be scored on the offensive glass,” coach Gary Williams said.
The Terps’ game was the final of 32 first round games to tip off. They watched as 10 lower-seeded teams pulled off upsets, but thanks to their early second half run, they didn’t allow Houston (19-16) to foster realistic hopes of earning their first NCAA Tournament win since 1984.
Houston’s Kelvin Lewis opened the second half with a jumper to tie the game at 39. On the next possession, guard Greivis Vasquez, who struggled shooting but finished with 16 points, was fouled and hit a pair of free throws.
The Terps, who hit their first six shots of the second half, led the rest of the way.
They scored 16 points in the first 3:15 of the second half, breaking out to a 55-44 lead on an Adrian Bowie three-pointer with 16:45 left in the game.
“We just weren’t relaxed,” Vasquez said of the team’s first-half effort. “The second half was a different type of game.”
The Terps cooled off, hitting just nine of their final 27 shots to close the half, but thanks to an 18-of-21 effort from the foul line, the Cougars never trimmed the deficit to fewer than seven points after the initial second-half run.
The Terps might not have been in that position if not for the work of Jordan Williams, who breathed much-needed life into the Terps’ offense in the first half with Vasquez struggling to get on track. Against the Cougars, who opponents outrebounded by more than eight boards per game this season, Williams dominated from almost the outset. By halftime, he already had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Utilizing space cleared out by Williams, Milbourne thrived. Although Gary Williams lamented several missed Milbourne lay-ups as failed opportunities for an even bigger night, the coach said getting to the free throw line seven times helped the senior rediscover his confidence.
“You can’t shake him. That’s the best part of him,” Gary Williams said. “He can go through a stretch where he doesn’t play well, but he’s not going to go away.”
The Terps also were able to succeed thanks to their defensive effort against Coleman. At times, especially in the first half, Coleman found success attacking the Terps’ defense, accumulating 16 first-half points.
As the second half wore on, whether the Terps used Vasquez, who started the game on Coleman, or Bowie to check Coleman, he struggled to create offense. To his credit, the C-USA Player of the Year attacked right to the final whistle, dribbling around for several seconds on the Cougars’ final possession before sliding into the teeth of the Terps’ defense and missing a contested lay-up.
Coleman finished 9-of-20 from the field.
“It takes time to get used to a player like that has the quickness and strength to do what he does,” Gary Williams said.
The Terps’ three seniors — Vasquez, Milbourne and guard Eric Hayes — prolonged their careers to include at least one more game.
After completing a postgame television interview, Vasquez showed his ecstasy and relief, briefly standing on a pair of black chairs on the Terps’ sideline and punching the air to acknowledge the Terp faithful in attendance.
And in the minutes after earning their third career NCAA Tournament win, the seniors acknowledged the role the freshman played in making it happen.
“[Jordan Williams] looked like he’s been here for years the way he was playing tonight,” Milbourne said. “That’s just how he’s been playing all year. It’s nothing different from conference play. This was real good that he got out here and just attacked.”
edetweiler@umdbk.com
