Morgan State rallies from 14 back to upset Maryland
Not only did Morgan State upset Maryland in College Park on Wednesday night, but the Bears did it by coming from 14 points behind with 12:35 to play. Morgan outscored Maryland 26-11 the rest of the way to post the 66-65 upset.
Morgan, last year's MEAC regular-season champion, improves to 6-8. The Terps are 11-3 and saw a seven-game win streak end. It's Maryland's first home loss of the year after a 9-0 start at Comcast Center.
Greivis Vasquez missed a contested short jumper in the lane with :04 left; and after Morgan missed a one-and-one free throw, Vasquez missed a half-court heave at the buzzer to cement Morgan's stunning upset.
Morgan's 6'4" guard, Reggie Holmes from Baltimore, scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half and scored 16 of the Bears' last 26 points down the stretch.
The Bears won this game despite shooting 39.1 percent, making only 4 of 13 foul shots, getting out-rebounded by five and committing 20 turnovers.
Maryland's side of the stat sheet didn't look any better. The Terps suffered a season-high 21 turnovers, had their second-worst shooting night of the year at 35.6 percent and made only 1 of 14 three-point shots. The Terps' bench was outscored 13-2 and combined to make just 1 of 12 shots.
Vasquez scored 19 points but hit just 5 of 21 shots and only 1 of 9 from three-point land. Dave Neal scored a career-high 18 points and fell one rebound shy of recording his first-ever double-double.
Morgan State took its first lead at 38-36 early in the second-half. The Terps responded with an 18-2 run to lead 54-40 with 12:37 left, a lead that looked safe at the time.
But the Terps made just 3 of their last 20 shots as Morgan outscored Maryland 26-11 after falling behind by 14. Now the Terps must regroup quickly as they host Georgia Tech Saturday in their ACC opener.
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Categories (click for archive)NCAA News | Steve Melewski Terps |
Can the Terps play any worse? If so, I don't want to see it. The good news (if you can call anything good after losing a game that was all but in the win column to a good, but inferior, team) is the timing. At least it wasn't in March or even into the ACC schedule.
This is the kind of game that over the years Gary Williams has used as a teaching tool.
While every team has off nights shooting the ball, failing to be agressive on the offensive end by not driving to the basket is inexcusable, especially for a good free throw shooting team like the Terps. Williams mentioned that as something the team needs to do, and not be content on taking jumpers when they aren't falling. (Had the Terps only one more shot or a couple more free throws, they would have won.)
Also, I think the players got the idea once they got ahead by double digits that Morgan State was going to cooperate and roll over for them. Again, as Gary stressed, they need to play with intensity throughout the game. So, this can be used as a wake-up call.
If there was a bright spot, it had to be the play of Dave Neal, who has really elevated his game this year. In all, a disappointing loss that I hope isn't too costly for them at the end of the year. (Of course, Morgan State could well end up in the field of 64 two months from now, which could make the loss a little less of an albatross.)
Still, I'm confident that as this squad comes together as a unit, it will in the long run be better than last year's.
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I was certainly stunned by the result, Ken. Even though I work on Terps radio, a small part of me was happy for the young guys from Morgan who worked hard for the upset and deserved it. I was pretty confident in the Terps, but this game has me worried a bit now. The Terps intensity seems to run hot and cold within the course of 40 minutes and that could be devestating in conference play. Also, how will the lack of size factor in now? We are about to find out. - Steve