WINSTON-SALEM,
N.C. --- In the waning moments of an unusual and wacky game, Maryland flipped
to a rerun that unfolded in gyms and flickered on televisions repeatedly the
last three years.
One
possession. One shot. And everyone knew who would take it.
“You want
to put the ball in the hands of your best player,” coach Gary Williams said. “At
least I do.”
That’s
usually the case with the Terrapins. Especially Greivis Vasquez’s Terrapins.
Sometimes it
works. In Tuesday night’s closing moments against Wake Forest, it didn’t as
Maryland dropped an 85-83 overtime decision.
Ultimately,
this is Vasquez’s team. Even if all of his teammates don’t shimmy like the
Venezuelan, don’t bark out to the crowd as the guard does, don’t possess Vasquez’s
variability, there's little doubt whose imprint is embedded on this outfit.
That unpredictability
is about the only thing about Vasquez someone can predict. Well, that plus
20-point outings (he’s hit that plateau seven straight times) and the eagerness
to handle big shots.
Vasquez’s
penchant for late heroics --- or at
least attempting them --- was available for all to see yet again at the Joel Coliseum.
He had a season-high 30 points, yet the Terps (10-5, 1-1 ACC) were down two.
In came the
pass. Off to the wing went Vasquez. Ten seconds still remained, and off the
shot floated toward the basket, the tie-dyed tapestry of Wake Forest’s fervent
fans serving as a backdrop.
It clanked
away. Sean Mosley missed from outside a few seconds later. Maryland couldn’t
get a tip-in with the final tenth of a second. Game over.
“I probably
should have drived,” Vasquez acknowledged later. “I thought I was going to
shoot overhand. … We almost got them. I don’t want to say they got a little
lucky, but I might give them credit this time because they won the game.”
Barely.
Yet also
bizarrely.
Maryland
was sluggish for long stretches, a problem perhaps brought on by the necessity
to play twice in three days. Yet it’s just as possible the Demon Deacons (12-3,
1-1) were better able to harness their height and athleticism than Florida
State, the Terps’ victim just 48 hours earlier.
Whatever
the case, Maryland trailed 58-50 with 12 minutes left, seemingly unable to put
together a quick, deficit-erasing rally. Conversely, Wake showed no ability to
completely dispatch the Terps.
It was a
nearly crucial mistake. The Terps eventually climbed back, eventually stymied
Wake’s halfcourt offense to make a push. Three late bullets --- 3-pointers from
Vasquez, Landon Milbourne and Eric Hayes --- gave the Terps a two-point lead,
only for Al-Farouq Aminu (24 points) to make a pair of foul shots with 29.3
seconds remaining to force overtime.
It was
there the Terps needed one of two plays to fall in their favor. Neither did.
Vasquez’s
shot was one, but whether it was a wise choice or the product of a quick
trigger, there was little question he would try it.
The other
came moments earlier, when Wake Forest guard Ish Smith carefully waited outside
the 3-point arc before breaking down Hayes and lofting in the go-ahead basket
with 19.8 seconds left.
Smith
fluttered about the lane all night, driving and distributing as needed. This
time, he simply plowed through to float in the winner.
“Foul line
to foul line, he’s the quickest guy in the league this year,” Williams said. “I
don’t think anyone’s quicker. I thought we did OK on him, but he made a big one
when he had to. He shot 8-for-23, but I wish he’d only taken 22 shots.”
Vasquez
still took more --- a career-high 27 --- each one taking on more significance
than the last. And for all the unexpected twists, the Terps remained a factor
until time finally ran out on a long night to cap a short-yet-rough stretch.
“We just have to keep fighting,”
guard Adrian Bowie said. “We know we should have won this game. The ball just
didn’t roll our way.”
Not this
time, even though the Terps stuck to their script. Play hard. Hang around. Let
Vasquez do his thing when it matters most.
It didn’t
quite work against Wake Forest. That doesn’t mean it won’t work later in the
season.
“It’s a
tough loss,” Vasquez said. “But if you look at the positive, we should have won
the game. But we didn’t. That’s a fact.”
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