CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Call it a Terrapin disappearing act.
Just before the Terps faced Virginia last night, the scoreboard at John Paul Jones Arena showed a digital cartoon of a tiny Cavalier using a sword to poke a giant Testudo until the terrapin disappeared.
Then, during the game, the Terp basketball team disappeared – on the stat sheet and also in the form of physical bodies on the court – resulting in a 103-91 loss to Virginia in front of 14,765 fans.
Only a few days after the Terps (15-4, 1-3 ACC) played one of their best games of the year and beat Clemson, the Terps’ went back to playing inconsistent basketball.
“One day we pass the ball great, today we come out and take dumb shots,” senior guard D.J. Strawberry said. “I guess when we’re getting down people kinda panic and try to do it themselves. But we’re a team and we have to do it together and that’s the only way we’re gonna win games – if we play as a team like we did against Clemson.”
The Terps evidenced the lack of smart play by falling into a 20-point first-half hole and turning the ball over 19 times.
After the Terps went down by the large margin to the Cavaliers (10-6, 2-2), they went into foul trouble, causing coach Gary Williams to constantly shuffle players in and out. In the game, the Terps committed 31 fouls, which included three players fouling out and two other players who finished with four fouls.
Virginia was 39-of-49 from the free-throw line.
“We put them on the line too many times,” coach Gary Williams said. “It’s a lot of free throws to give to a team, and they’re a good free throw shooting team with the right guys on the line.”
“I mean, some games you’re gonna have foul trouble, you just gotta depend on the bench to come out and keep it up until we can get those players back in the game,” junior forward James Gist added. “I think the bench stepped up tonight and did a real good job, but we just couldn’t pull it out.”
Despite not playing smart and losing players on the court, the Terps mounted a substantial comeback and cut the Cavaliers 20-point lead into a seven-point lead in the final three minutes of the half with a 13-0 run. But with so many players in foul trouble, the comeback didn’t last.
The Terps got within three points of the Cavaliers, but the margin quickly disappeared and so did the Terps’ chances of winning.
Virginia went on a 12-0 run to make the score 70-55, and the Terps never cut the deficit beyond eight the rest of the game.
“I thought we could win the game at halftime, but we didn’t play much better at the start of the second half,” Williams said. “The whole thing was the way we started the game just getting behind, and that’s what caused our problems.”
Contact reporter Bryan Mann at bmanndbk@gmail.com.
