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Terps trounce UVa to close play in Cole

By ANDREW JOYNER
Daily Progress staff writer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — In the final game at Maryland’s Cole Field House on Sunday night the scripted ceremonies seemingly had a role for everyone in the 47-year-old building. The only people that did not have an assignment were the members of the Virginia men’s basketball team.
Once the game started, however, they found out their roles were to be the sacrificial opponent.
The No. 2 Terrapins, playing in front of a frenzied and circus-like Cole crowd, shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field as they raced to their 12th straight victory with a 112-92 decision over the Cavaliers.
It was the fifth-straight opponent to shoot at least 50 percent from the field against the Cavaliers and it marked the most points scored against a UVa team since Georgetown beat UVa 115-111 in the first round of the 2000 NIT.
To no one’s surprise, it was the defensive effort that drew the ire of Virginia coach Pete Gillen after the game.
“You have to be able to stop them. You are not going to outscore a team like Maryland. We didn’t defend,” Gillen said. “We knew this was going to be a tough assignment. Before the season, we looked at that and just went ‘Wow.’ I think they would have beaten most teams in the country tonight with their emotion and everything.”
Of course, Gillen has his own comical spin on just what his team was facing on Sunday night.
“They were rolling out the maintenance man from the Russian Revolution. It was win it for him and win it for Igor,” Gillen quipped.
Senior guard Juan Dixon led Maryland (25-3, 15-1 ACC) with 23 points while Chris Wilcox added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Terps, who will be the top seed in next week’s ACC tournament. Lonny Baxter, like Dixon playing in his final home game, finished with 20 and fellow senior Byron Mouton had 15.
Chris Williams led Virginia, which has now lost eight of its last 11 games, with a season-high 28 points. Travis Watson added 20 and Roger Mason Jr. finished with 15.
Fifth-seeded Virginia will next face fourth-seeded N.C. State, which won both meetings against the Cavaliers this season, in an ACC quarterfinal contest Friday in Charlotte. Virginia likely will need, at the minimum, a win in that contest in order to remain in the hunt for an NCAA tournament bid, but will have a little positive history going for it. Since 1986, 16 teams in the ACC have finished 6-8 or 7-9 in league play, with nine of those earning NCAA tournament at-large bids and one, N.C. State in 1987, won the ACC tournament to earn a trip to the field of 64.
“A new season starts on Friday and we have to get ready,” Mason said. “We play N.C. State but whoever we are going to play we are going to be focused because we want to win the ACC tournament. We are going to regroup and make a run.”
Maryland, which led 43-36 at halftime, had almost a perfect offensive conversion rate in the second half as it shot a scorching 72.7 percent and scored 69 second-half points. The Terrapins scored on 24 of their 28 possessions in the second half and built as big as a 24-point second half lead on a layup by Dixon with 4:41 remaining.
Defense was certainly lacking on both sides in the second half, as Virginia scored 56 points and shot 54.3 percent from the field.
“We have to defend better that. There are no excuses for that. Our offense was very good but our defense was very bad,” Gillen said.
Added senior swingman Adam Hall: “We scored 56 points in the second half but they scored even more. That was bad defense but we were also allowing them to get a lot of offensive rebounds. We can play good defense but we just have to put everything together: play good defensive, hit our shots on offense, and also box out and rebound.”
The Terrapins, who led by as many as 15 in the first half, held a 43-36 lead at halftime. The Cavaliers had opened a 19-14 lead with 12:10 remaining on a layup by freshman forward Jason Clark but the Terrapins rattled off a 26-5 run over the next nine minutes to surge to a 39-24 lead with 3:53 remaining.
The final six points of that stretch came in what was essentially one possession. First, Dixon made a 17-footer and then before Virginia could take possession and inbound the ball, freshman point guard Keith Jenifer was assessed an intentional foul for contact with Mouton underneath the basket. Dixon made the two free throws and then Byron Mouton made a layup to conclude the spurt.
“We were running up court and he [Mouton] just ran into me and moved his shoulder into me,” said Jenifer, who got in an altercation with the Maryland bench during the teams’ first meeting in Charlottesville last month that did not result in any foul being called. “I was surprised that it got called.”
Added Gillen: “Keith Jenifer is like a mosquito. He’s not going to go out there and start a fight. I’m not saying that he is St. Thomas Aquinas, but he got caught. Mouton hit him and he hit him back and he got caught.”
The Cavaliers, however, scored 12 of the half’s final 16 points including a 3-pointer by Williams at the buzzer to reduce the Terps’ advantage to 43-36 at halftime.

 

 

Cavaliers can’t stop Maryland offense down stretch

By JERRY RATCLIFFE
Daily Progress sports editor

COLLEGE PARK, Md.

When the ACC schedule came out last summer, Virginia coach Pete Gillen knew the deck would be stacked against his Cavaliers when they visited Maryland in early March for the last game to be played at historic Cole Field House. After a sluggish start, the Terrapins flexed their muscles as the No. 2 team in the nation and closed out the era in style with the most points ever scored in the series.
Maryland honored so many of its past heroes during the evening that Gillen wisecracked, “They were rolling out maintenance men from the Revolution.”
Amidst the hoopla was the return of such Maryland legends as Tom McMillen, Len Elmore, Adrian Branch, Buck Williams. A Who’s Who of Terp basketball.
That wasn’t the problem.
Lonny Baxter, Juan Dixon, Chris Wilcox, Byron Mouton and Steve Blake were in the house. That was the problem.
Virginia, fresh off a stunning upset over third-ranked Duke and in desperate need of another victory in hopes of gaining an NCAA Tournament bid, played well early against the sluggish Terps but forgot the tenants of what allowed them to defeat Duke: rebounding and defense.
After holding off the Cavaliers 43-36 in the first half, Maryland scored 69 points in the second half to close out only the fourth unbeaten home season in Cole’s 47-year history. The Terps, 25-3 and 15-1 in the ACC, shot 72.7 percent from the field in the second half (24 of 33) as they shredded Virginia’s defense.
Maryland’s 69 second-half points were more than the 1955 Terps team scored in the entire game when they defeated Virginia in the first game played at Cole (67-55).
Gillen opened the game with a zone defense in hopes of slowing the Terps down and that strategy worked well for most of the first half until the bigger Maryland frontline began to wear the Cavs down with constant pounding inside. The Terps scored 52 points in the paint for the game.
“You’ve got to be able to stop them,” said Gillen, whose team dropped to 17-10 overall and 7-9 in the ACC. “You’re not going to outscore a team like Maryland. They’re bigger than us and we didn’t screen out. We haven’t screened out well all season.
“You can’t play defense like that against Maryland and win,” said Gillen. “There’s no excuse for that. You have to rebound and screen out, too.”
Virginia senior Chris Williams, who played his best game of the season with a season-high 28 points, said the Cavaliers mortally wounded themselves by giving up dunks, layups and second-chance baskets inside.
Roger Mason Jr. agreed with Williams.
“We lost some of our defensive concepts and didn’t help each other out on defense like we did the last eight minutes of the Duke game,” said Mason.
Williams said that the beauty of his team is a balanced scoring attack as six Terps scored in double figures, led by Dixon’s 23. Chris Wilcox added 21 and Baxter 20.
“Usually in college basketball you can shut one big scorer down even if you have to put four guys on him,” said Williams. “We have six guys who can score in double figures, so we’re very difficult to stop no matter what defense you’re playing.”
But Virginia played a much more focused game in Charlottesville last month when they had the Terps on the ropes with a nine-point lead with 3:22 left in the game and still lost. This time, the Cavaliers didn’t bring the same intensity to the table.
Instead of springing another upset and improving their chances at an NCAA berth, the Cavs must put all their emphasis on Friday’s quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament when they face N.C. State, a team that swept them during the regular season.
“I think we can match up with N.C. State or anybody else in the country,” said Mason. “I’m glad we’re playing them because we have a chance to avenge them sweeping us.
“We are the underdog every time out now,” said Mason. “Nobody thought we had a chance against Duke. Nobody thinks we have a chance in the tournament. I kind of like that.”
Only time will tell if Virginia’s “Us Against the World” mentality will pay dividends. One thing is for sure. No one else can help them now. They hold their fate in their own hands.

 

 

Terps easily beat Virginia in final field house game
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 4, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- More than once, the public address announcer reminded Maryland fans Sunday night that Cole Field House ``will be open and fully occupied in the future. Please don't take any souvenirs.''

Open? Yes. Cole will continue to be used by students.

Fully occupied? Never again like it was Sunday, when the 637th and final men's college basketball game was played at the William P. Cole Student Activities Building, known across the ACC and the nation simply as Cole.

No. 2 Maryland beat Virginia 112-92 in an outcome that could hardly have gone any other way, given the buildup and party-like atmosphere. Red-clad fans jammed into the 47-year-old arena, filling the place more than an hour before tipoff. Dozens of former Terrapin players were on hand. You could hardly walk through the tunnel without bumping into a Maryland legend, players such as Albert King, Tom McMillen, Len Elmore and Buck Williams.

Fittingly, it was a pair of Maryland greats still in uniform, seniors Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter, who ultimately did in the Cavaliers. Virginia was within hailing distance, at 54-42, when Dixon missed a shot, ran down the rebound and swished a baseline jumper. Dixon followed that basket with a 3-pointer. Baxter then scored on a layup to make it 61-42, a margin Maryland more or less maintained the rest of the way.

Dixon finished with 23 points, and Baxter 20. Chris Wilcox had 21 and dominated at times inside.

Maryland, which had already clinched the ACC title, finished the regular season 25-3, 15-1 in the ACC and 15-0 at Cole.

``Once the emotion died down and we could get focused again, we were fine,'' Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

Virginia (17-10, 7-9) was attempting its second upset of a top-three opponent in three days, and would have almost certainly secured an NCAA tournament bid with a victory. Instead, the Cavaliers will probably need to win at least one ACC tournament game to reach the NCAAs.

``We wanted to get some momentum heading into the ACC tournament,'' guard Roger Mason Jr. said. ``But we can't dwell on this. It's a new season.''

Virginia was within seven, at 43-36, at halftime, but allowed Maryland to shoot 72.7 percent in the second half, 61.5 percent for the game.

``You've got to be able to stop them,'' coach Pete Gillen said. ``You're not going to outscore a team like Maryland with their great talent.

``We did a good job on offense, but our defense was bad, especially in the second half.''

Cole had rarely been kind to Virginia. The Cavaliers were 13-33 in the building heading into Sunday's game, and were facing a veteran Maryland team that some observers feel is better than last year's Final Four squad.

Virginia led 19-12 before Maryland embarked on a 27-5 run to take a 39-24 lead. Virginia cut it to 39-31 on a 3-pointer by Chris Williams with 2:25 remaining. Maryland pushed the lead back to 10, but a Williams trey at the buzzer made it 43-36 at halftime. Williams led Virginia with 28 points.

In the second half, everything went according to script for Maryland. Gary Williams emptied his bench with a minute left and even Earl Badu, a senior walk-on who had scored one basket in four years, made a layup.

Andre Collins, a backup guard, scored the final basket at Cole, a 3-pointer as time ran out. Virginia, which lost the first game played at Cole, 67-55, on Dec. 2, 1955, was the final victim as well.

``Tonight,'' Gillen said, ``they would have beaten most teams in the country.''

 

 

Cavs can't crash Cole party
Maryland says goodbye to 47-year-old Cole Field House with a 69-point second half in which it shoots 72.7 percent.
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   COLLEGE PARK, Md. - For Virginia, the time to get Maryland was in late January.

    Destiny never would have allowed the Cavaliers to beat the Terrapins on Sunday night, in the final basketball game at 47-year-old Cole Field House.

    Second-ranked Maryland, which captured the ACC regular-season championship when UVa upset Duke, declined to repay the favor and defeated the Cavaliers 112-92.

    The Terrapins shot 72.7 percent from the field in scoring 69 second-half points. It represented the most points either team has scored in the 157-game history of the series.

    "You've got to be able to stop them, not outscore them," said UVa coach Pete Gillen, whose team had not given up more than 100 points since losing at Maryland 102-67 in the final game of the 2001 regular season.

    Maryland (25-3, 15-1 ACC) draws a bye as the top seed in the ACC Tournament starting Thursday night in Charlotte, N.C. Fifth-seeded Virginia (17-10, 7-9) meets fourth-seeded North Carolina State (20-8) in the quarterfinals Friday at 2:30 p.m.

    UVa goes into the tournament with eight losses in its last 11 games and, according to most estimations, will need to win at least one game to make the NCAA Tournament.

    A victory over the Terrapins would have done the trick, but that would have been asking for lightning to strike twice in one week. On Thursday, UVa rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final 7:31 to defeat No.3 Duke 87-84.

    Virginia's best chance to beat the Terrapins came in late January, when Maryland overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 3:06 to beat the Cavaliers 81-77. That was the second of four straight losses that sent streak the Cavaliers into their downward spiral.

    Playing with renewed confidence after beating Duke, Virginia took a 19-14 lead but lost its edge Sunday when Maryland went on a 14-3 run. The Cavaliers got as close as 28-24 before Maryland enjoyed another spurt, this one fueled by an intentional foul against UVa freshman Keith Jenifer.

    Jenifer also was involved in an altercation in the first Virginia-Maryland game, when he became embroiled in a shouting match with Maryland head coach Gary Williams and aide Jimmy Patsos.

    This time, Maryland senior Juan Dixon had just scored to put the Terps ahead 35-28 when Jenifer was whistled following an altercation with Byron Mouton. Somehow, Dixon wound up at the line and converted two free throws, Maryland retained possession and Mouton scored off an offensive rebound.

    "I'm not saying he's St. Thomas Aquinas," Gillen said, "but Keith Jenifer is a mosquito. He's not out there to start a fight with anybody."

    Nevertheless, Maryland scored six points without UVa touching the ball and the Terrapins expanded their lead to 43-33 before the Cavaliers' Chris Williams hit a 3-pointer to end the half.

    Maryland shot 61.5 percent from the field, marking the fifth straight game and seventh time in nine games that an opponent had shot 50 percent or better against the Cavaliers. The Terrapins scored on 20 of 22 possessions during one stretch of the second half.

    Virginia shot 50 percent from the field and committed 12 turnovers - one of its most efficient offensive performances. The Cavaliers shot 54.3 percent in scoring 56 second-half points.

    Williams led all scorers with a season-high 28 points, matched a career high with seven assists and contributed seven rebounds. Travis Watson added 20 points but was limited to three rebounds, well under his ACC-leading 10.1 average.

    Dixon had a team-high 23 points for the Terps, sophomore forward Chris Wilcox added 21 and Lonny Baxter had 20. Wilcox had a game-high 11 rebounds as Maryland pounded UVa on the boards 35-27.

    Gillen knew as soon as he saw the Cavaliers' schedule that Virginia would be Maryland's opponent in the final game at Cole.

    "We said, 'Wow,'" Gillen said. "They're rolling out the maintenance man from the Russian Revolution. Win it for him. Win it for Igor. Tonight, I think they would have beaten most teams in the country, if not everybody."

 

 

U.Va. defense feeble in loss

BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER 		Mar 04, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - In the final game at Cole Field House, before a boisterous sellout crowd and a slew of former Maryland greats, including Buck Williams, Len Elmore, Albert King and Tom McMillen, the Virginia men's basketball team didn't want to play the role of sacrificial lamb. But that's what happened last night.

The second-ranked Terrapins carved up the Cavaliers, who did their best to help the ACC's regular-season champions make a glorious exit before an adoring crowd of 14,500. Even by its low standards, U.Va. turned in a dismal defensive effort. The Terrapins scored at least one point on 24 of its final 28 possessions and romped 112-92 in the regular-season finale for both teams. That's the most points scored by a team in this series.

"We didn't defend," Virginia guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "They got any shot they wanted."

U.Va. (7-9, 17-10) scored 56 second-half points and shot 54.3 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes. That would have carried the Cavs past most teams, but the Terrapins (15-1, 25-3) were even more efficient in their 12th straight victory. They shot 72.7 percent from the field while torching U.Va. for 69 second-half points. For the game, Maryland hit 61.5 percent of its shots.

"There's no excuse for that," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said of his team's defensive lapses. The Cavaliers have allowed each of their past five opponents to shoot at least 50 percent from the field.

"Today, we played up to our potential offensively," Gillen said, 'but we didn't live up to our potential defensively."

With 6:02 remaining, Maryland students began taunting U.Va. with a chant of "NIT . . . NIT." Whether the Cavaliers will end up there or their preferred postseason destination, the NCAA tournament, isn't clear. Since the NCAA tourney was expanded to 64 teams in 1985, 16 ACC teams have finished 6-8 or 7-9 in conference play. Nine of them earned at-large bids to the NCAAs, and a 10th snared an automatic berth by winning the ACC tournament.

Of those nine teams, four won at least one game in the ACC tourney. Virginia, the fifth seed, plays No. 4 seed N.C. State (9-7, 20-9) in the first round Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Charlotte Coliseum. The Wolfpack swept its regular-season series with the Cavaliers.

"It's a new season starting Friday," Mason said.

For a half, this was a game last night. Virginia led 19-14 with 11:20 left in the opening period. Maryland stormed back to build a 39-24 lead - thanks in part to an intentional foul by U.Va. point guard Keith Jenifer - but Gillen's club didn't come unglued. That would happen later. This time, the Cavs, behind senior forward Chris Williams, closed the half with a 12-4 run to pull to 43-36.

Williams scored eight of Virginia's last 10 points in the first half and assisted on the other two. In what might have been his finest game as a Cavalier, he finished with a season-high 28 points and matched his career high with seven assists. Williams also led U.Va. with seven rebounds and had only one turnover.

"Tonight was his night," said teammate Adam Hall.

Junior center Travis Watson, the ACC's leading rebounder, added 20 points for Virginia but had only three boards, mainly because the Terrapins missed so few shots. When Maryland did misfire, it often came up with the rebound. The Terrapins had 13 offensive boards. Chris Wilcox grabbed five of them and finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Maryland starts three seniors, and each made a significant contribution. Guard Juan Dixon scored a game-high 23 points. Center Lonny Baxter had 20 points and eight rebounds, and forward Byron Mouton chipped in 11 points and five assists. Junior point guard Steve Blake also distinguished himself, totaling 10 assists - nine in the second half - and 15 points.

"You've got to be able to stop them," Gillen said. "You're not going to be able to outscore a great team like Maryland. . . . Tonight, they would have beaten more teams in the country."

 

 

Maryland's party turned out the lights on Virginia

BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST 		Mar 04, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. No way Virginia's Cavaliers were going to win this baby. Could've slipped slush-fund money to the refs. Wouldn't have mattered. Could've played six on five. Wouldn't have mattered. Could've signed Shaq and Kobe for one cameo appearance apiece, lowered their basket to 9 feet 8 inches for the second half, had Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter deported for being illegal aliens, made a pact with the devil to guarantee Roger Mason 10-for-10 accuracy from bonusland.

Ditto, ditto, ditto and ditto.

What mattered last night was this: After 47 seasons and 637 games, Cole Field House staged its final college basketball shindig last night. Maryland's Terps carried their No. 2-in-the-country banner onto the floor. Dixon and Baxter were honored as departing senior luminaries. Old grads from Len Elmore to Boomer Esiason were in the house, and 14,500 worship-service attendees were on hand.

The 76ers would've had trouble handling the Terps given this setup.

The Cavaliers didn't stand a chance.

This is not to say the boys from C'ville rolled over. They threw up a 2-3 zone that - early on, anyhow - forced Maryland to go deep into the 35-second count before launching shots. They sicced Adam Hall on Dixon and limited the Terps' headliner to six points before intermission on 2-for-8 marksmanship. They trailed by only seven at that juncture after cutting into a 15-point Maryland lead. They shook Chris Williams loose for a season-high 28 points.

And still were zapped 112-92.

"Tonight, they would've beaten most teams in the country," U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said. "With their talent, with their emotion, with their coaching . . . They're rolling out the maintenance man from the Russian Revolution . . . "

Which is another way of saying this night was as much about an old airplane hangar of a gym as a ballgame.

Carlos Boozer's mom isn't the only visitor who wouldn't endorse the joint as one of sportdom's great landmarks. The roof is leaky. There's no air-conditioning. Try to buy a halftime hot dog, and you're in gridlock that dwarfs the Midlothian Turnpike at rush hour. Not to mention the fact the place contains the grand total of four bathrooms, which translates into one for every 3,625 ticket-holders.

The Comcast Center under construction a couple of fastbreaks away will be state of the art, by contrast. It'll boast twice as much space. It'll have 2,600 additional seats. It'll contain luxury suites, bells and whistles galore, 37 (count 'em) bathrooms, on-site dry cleaning for Gary Williams' sweat-soaked suits (just kidding), the works.

What it won't improve on are Cole's memories. DeMatha High's conquest of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Power Memorial juggernaut in 1965. Texas Western's all-black starting five setting college hoops on its racial-profiling ear by outmaneuvering lily-white Kentucky for the national championship a year later. The UM pep band blaring out "Hail to the Chief" to salute Lefty Driesell's entrances. Richmond's Spiders becoming the first No.15 seed ever to beat a No.2 when they zapped Syracuse in the 1991 NCAAs.

The Terps closing the curtain much as they raised it on Dec. 2, 1955 with a 67-55 conquest of - you guessed it - U.Va.

The Cavs trailed for the closing 29:43 on this occasion and simply gave away too much in talent and too many cheap baskets to hang with the Terps. Maryland nailed nearly 73 percent of its shots after the break and 61.5 for the game - the fifth straight U.Va. opponent to scale the 50-percent barrier. Of its 40 baskets, 26 came on layups, dunks, stickbacks and low-post power moves.

"You got to be able to stop them," Gillen said. "You're not going to be able to outscore a team like Maryland, with their great talent. We didn't defend."

Repeat that lament Friday against N.C. State in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, and Gillen's guys might have to hope for charity to crash the NCAA party. Much as they maybe wished they could've turned down this invitation to Cole's farewell bash.

 

 

In Finale, Terps Fare Well
U-Md. Ends 15-0 at Home With Rout Of Cavaliers

By Josh Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 4, 2002; Page D01

The fans started arriving during the afternoon, hours before game time, intent on celebrating Maryland's final game played at Cole Field House and the regular season finale for one of the school's finest teams. The Terrapins gave them one last show to remember.

Guard Juan Dixon led six Maryland players in double figures with 23 points and the second-ranked Terrapins rolled to a 112-92 victory over Virginia last night, capping the best regular season in school history and just the fourth undefeated home record since the arena opened in 1955.

"This is the way it is supposed to be," Maryland Coach Gary Williams said.

Virginia had hoped to interfere with the Terrapins' party and take a significant step toward the NCAA tournament, but Maryland had too much going. The Terrapins were brilliant offensively, shooting 61.5 percent. Forward Chris Wilcox had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Steve Blake added 15 points and 10 assists.

At game's end, the band played "We Are the Champions" and players cut down the net at one end of the court to celebrate the school's first outright ACC regular season title since 1980.

"I hope we can keep our momentum going," Williams said. "We've played really well the last month and a half."

While Maryland (25-3, 15-1 ACC) continued its drive toward the postseason, Virginia finds itself in a precarious situation. The Cavaliers (17-10, 7-9) have lost eight of their past 11 games and appear to need at least one more victory to earn a return invitation to the NCAA tournament.

Virginia's collapse started a month ago, when the Cavaliers blew a nine-point lead with 3 minutes 30 seconds remaining and lost to visiting Maryland, 91-87. The Terrapins needed no such comeback last night, though, as they created one last memory at Cole.

Maryland trailed 19-14 midway through the first half, but two quick runs -- helped by an ill-advised intentional foul by Virginia freshman Keith Jenifer -- gave the Terrapins a 39-24 lead. Virginia had trailed by 15 points with 7 1/2 minutes remaining before rallying to beat third-ranked Duke on Thursday, and the Cavaliers tried to claw their way back into the game behind forward Chris Williams.

Williams finished with a season-high 28 points and helped cut the deficit to 43-36 by halftime.

However, any thoughts of a second consecutive upset quickly were dismissed after halftime. Ten seconds in, Blake calmly made a three-pointer from the top of the key and Lonny Baxter made two free throws.

"Way to start the second half," Virginia Coach Pete Gillen said to no one in particular.

After a three-pointer by Williams momentarily broke the run, Blake fed Baxter for a layup and Wilcox for a dunk. A minute later, Dixon made an off-balance 16-footer from the left side, then pulled up for a three-pointer from the left wing. Blake fed Baxter for a fast-break layup; it was 61-42 and the rout was on.

"The first four or five minutes of the second half, we didn't defend them," Gillen said. "And you're not going to outscore a team like Maryland."

The Terrapins nearly were unstoppable in the second half, shooting 72.7 percent from the field. It hardly mattered whether Virginia played man-to-man defense or a zone. Baxter -- who along with fellow seniors Dixon, Byron Mouton and Earl Badu was recognized before the game in senior day ceremonies -- had 20 points. Mouton added 11 and guard Drew Nicholas had 10.

Maryland finished with the most points they have scored in the teams' 157 meetings, including a driving basket by Badu -- his first career points -- with 45 seconds left.

"The offense was great," said Blake, who also noted the team's momentum entering this week's ACC tournament.

"We're very confident. We have the feeling we can beat anybody at any time, but we know we have to play hard."

The Cavaliers began to unravel when it was 35-24. As the players ran to the other end of the court, Jenifer -- who was in the center of controversy in the teams' first meeting when he was near Maryland's huddle at the beginning of a timeout -- was called for an intentional foul, apparently for pushing a Maryland player in the back of the head.

Jenifer "said Mouton smacked him," Gillen said. "Keith Jenifer is like a mosquito. He's 155 pounds, he's not going to start with anyone. Mouton hit him, he hit him back and got caught."

Dixon made two free throws after the intentional foul. After Gillen called his third timeout of the half, Mouton made a jumper from the left side of the foul line. It was 39-24 with less than four minutes left in the half and the Terrapins were in good shape.

"It was a terrific night," Dixon said. "A great night to play basketball. The fans were into it. And we played well."

 

 

For Virginia, the Glow of Win Over Duke Fades

By Alan Goldenbach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 4, 2002; Page D11

The momentum and confidence generated by a stunning, come-from-behind victory over No. 3 Duke on Thursday faded quickly at Cole Field House last night.

For one night last week, Virginia justified a spot for itself in the NCAA tournament. In its 112-92 loss at Maryland, however, the postseason tournament destination for the Cavaliers returned to uncertainty.

At least the Maryland student section had an idea of where Virginia is headed in two weeks; with six minutes to play, the students started a chant of, "NIT, NIT."

Already on the edge of the NCAA tournament, Virginia (17-10) almost certainly would be out of the 65-team field with a first-round loss to North Carolina State on Friday afternoon in the ACC tournament.

The Wolfpack defeated Virginia in both conference meetings this season, including a 17-point win on Feb. 6 in Raleigh.

The mood in the Virginia locker room was of overwhelming bewilderment. The Cavaliers are still having trouble assessing how a team can fall so far so fast. They were 9-0 and ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press poll on Dec. 31. Four weeks later, Virginia was 14-2 and ranked seventh.

Since then, the Cavaliers have lost eight of 11 games and tumbled out of the rankings and into the middle of the ACC standings.

"We've got to regroup and get ready," Virginia Coach Pete Gillen said. "Obviously, [North Carolina State] is a gigantic game. . . . I think they know how important this is. It's very important that we win this game for our postseason hopes."

Virginia must revamp its defense. The Cavaliers allowed Maryland to shoot 73 percent from the floor en route to a 69-point second half and the highest point total in the 157 meetings between the schools.

Gillen said the defensive lapse began in the Cavaliers' 87-84 victory over Duke. The poor defense was masked by Virginia overcoming a 15-point deficit in the final 8 minutes 1 second and outscoring the Blue Devils 25-8 over that stretch.

"We beat Duke 87-84," Gillen said, "but we didn't defend them; we outscored them."

Virginia started off playing Maryland very tight defensively, often double-teaming Juan Dixon and defending entry passes to the post very well. The Terrapins managed just 14 points in the first 8:54 and trailed by five.

The Terrapins, however, began the second half quickly and turned a seven-point halftime edge into a blowout. They scored on 19 of their first 22 second-half possessions.

"The first 10 minutes, we played as well as we could," Gillen said. "We were right there with them. . . . Just to begin the second half we fell apart."

Said junior guard Roger Mason Jr.: "We lost some defensive concepts and things we did against Duke the last eight minutes."

Virginia had hoped the energy sparked by the Duke victory would carry over into this game, and together the two contests would power the Cavaliers into the postseason. Now, they have to start over again.

"We can't dwell on this," Mason said. "We wanted to get some momentum going heading into the [ACC] tournament. . . . Hopefully, we'll get over the hump. The first thing this week we're going to work on is defense."

 

 

Maryland blows out Virginia in final game at Cole
Williams' 28 points not enough as six Terps in double figures dent Cavs' tournament hopes
By Jonathan Evans
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The final game at Cole Field House was much like the first played at the storied arena. Although this time around Bob Kessler wasn't able to lead the Terrapin effort, Juan Dixon, Chris Wilcox and Lonny Baxter proved all that was necessary to lead the No. 2 Terrapins to a 112-92 victory over the Cavaliers.

The Terrapins (25-3, 15-1 ACC) came out red hot in the second half to balloon a seven-point halftime advantage up to 19 in the opening four minutes of the second stanza.

For Virginia (17-10, 7-9), matters got worse before they got better as poor Cavalier defense allowed Maryland to shoot 73 percent en route to 69 second half points.

"We couldn't play defense in the second half," Gillen said. "We executed on offense and our man-to-man's and zones gave them trouble early, but in the second half we couldn't defend."

Senior forward Chris Williams led the Cavalier effort, totaling 28 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the losing effort. These efforts came courtesy of an aggressive approach that often has eluded the Cavalier senior on the road.

"Williams stepped up, he was aggressive," Gillen said. "He had a really good offensive game."

However, the valiant efforts of Williams could not overcome several Cavalier collapses on defense.

"Defensively we didn't execute down the stretch," Virginia guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "We didn't do what we did in the last eight minutes against Duke" last Thursday.

Effective Cavalier defense stifled the Terrapins early and allowed the Cavaliers to jump out to a 19-14 advantage.

But Maryland used a 20-5 run to grab the lead for good, and the Cavaliers would not come any closer than at the half, as Williams hit a three-pointer with time running out to cut the Virginia deficit to seven.

The Cavaliers did not hold onto that margin long, however, as the Terps' Steven Blake hit a three-pointer to open the torrential second half of scoring for Maryland.

Ineffective defense plagued Virginia in the second half as Maryland was able to get into the lane effectively and connect from close range.

"We gave them too many layups, and dunks, and easy looks from three," Williams said.

Dixon, Baxter and Wilcox were the primary recipients of these Cavalier collapses as they totaled 23, 20 and 21 points respectively.

For the Cavaliers, center Travis Watson finished the game with 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting. Mason netted 15 points for the evening.

"They're a tough team," Gillen said "With their players and their coaching and all the emotion of the evening it would have been hard for almost any team in the country to beat them."

"It's tough because this is a game you really want to win to get some momentum, but we just have to realize that the new season starts soon."

The new season begins this Friday as the Cavaliers take on N.C. State in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

 

 

Interior defense haunts Cavaliers once again in conference loss
By Jeremy Williams
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -

In the first couple of minutes in the last game ever held at Cole Field House, the Virginia men's basketball team looked as if they would take the momentum from Thursday night's unbelievable win over Duke and spoil senior night for the Terrapin faithful. Unfortunately for Cavalier fans, that feeling didn't last long.

With former Terrapin greats like Len Elmore there to cheer on Maryland, seniors Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter showed why their jerseys deserved to hang beside the names of Lucas, Bias and Elmore.

Both Dixon and Baxter treated the Virginia defense like high schoolers, seemingly scoring at will against the porous Cavalier defense. Then again, so was every member of the Maryland squad as they went on to score 112 against Virginia. The Cavaliers simply played lacadaisacal on the defensive end, allowing too many opportunities under the basket. For most - well, all - of the second half, Maryland looked as if they were running a pre-game layup drill, scoring at will against the Cavaliers.

Lately, Virginia has had absolutely no interior defense. Other than against Georgia Tech on Feb. 23rd, opposing big men have had field days on the inside. At Wake Forest, Darius Songaila went 11-for-12 from the field, scoring 30 points, while dominating the inside. At Florida State, Nigel Dixon had huge rebounds, giving the Cavaliers no inside opportunity. Recently, Duke's Carlos Boozer missed only one shot en route to 33 points. Tonight, Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox scored 41 points together.

Defense has been a growing concern for Pete Gillen, as he has said that if the Cavaliers want to play with the big boys they must learn to defend.

"Our offense was excellent tonight," Gilen said. "But our defense was horrible especially in the second half. We know that we can't outscore people, so we need to get a lot better before the ACC tournament."

Virginia came out fired up, starting out in a zone defense that seemed to confuse the Terrapins. But after a 20-5 Maryland run put the Terrapins up 39-24, it looked and felt as if the Cavaliers wouldn't have enough defensive stamina on senior night.

Though the Cavaliers were only down seven at the half, Steve Blake hit a three-pointer to open the second half, which would prove to be an ominous sign for the Cavaliers.

Maryland scored an amazing 69 points in the second half, outscoring Virginia by 13. Even Chris Williams, the only Cavalier who showed up to play, could not stop the Maryland tear.

The Cavaliers will have to shore up the defensive problems heading into a "probably must-win" against N.C. State in the ACC tournament this Friday. Though some analysts say the Cavaliers can get into the tournament solely because of the Duke game, it is likely that Virginia will have to get a win over the team that swept them in the regular season.

"We have to get ready to play a tough N.C. State team," Gillen said. "The players know the situation, and it is important to go down there and play hard."

If Virginia plays defense like they did in the last game at Cole Field House, the Cavaliers will stay winless in the postseason since 1995, and 0-5 in the Gillen regime.

 

 

EX-JET GROH GETTING NATION'S TOP RECRUITS TO SAY . . . YES, VIRGINIA!

By MARK HALE

March 3, 2002 -- Six days after the 2000 NFL season, Al Groh was branded a quitter, and nobody on the Jets rushed to his defense.

Following Groh's decision to bolt New York for the head-coaching job at Virginia, Jets center Kevin Mawae declared that, "For the most part, guys weren't happy" playing for Groh "from the stars all the way down to the practice squad." Even ex-Jet Keyshawn Johnson ripped into Groh, charging, "He messed everything up there for that team."

How things have changed.

Fourteen months after failing to lead the Jets to the playoffs and three months after suffering through a 5-7 college campaign, Groh has undergone a reputation makeover by assembling the greatest recruiting class in his alma mater's history.

The bumper crop not only includes five players in ESPN's Top 95, it ranks as one of the country's five best - alongside traditional powerhouses Miami, Florida State and Texas.

"I think they stole the class," said Hylton H.S. (Va.) LB Ahmad Brooks, Virginia's prize recruit and the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year. "They're not a top-notch program, but coach Groh had a very good recruiting process."

So how did a coach who has won just five of his last 15 games win the hearts of the nation's star recruits?

Surprisingly, as Groh and his incoming players note, he did much of it thanks to his NFL experience.

"The whole staff either had NFL coaching or playing experience," said Princess Anne H.S. (Va.) LB Kai Parham, rated the nation's fifth-best defensive prospect. "If I'm lucky enough to make it to the NFL, then I want to know as much about playing linebacker as possible."

"[Groh] coached nine linebackers who played in the Pro Bowl," Brooks added. "Obviously he knows what he's doing."

Of course, his defensive expertise aside, Groh's reputation in New York as being difficult to play for could have been a sticking point. Even Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage - who helped hire Groh and who gushes over his character - acknowledges, "He's a person who's very direct. I could imagine that his direct style could be difficult for some people."

But not for Groh's recruits, who were very un-Jet-like in praising his personality, even compared to other big-name coaches who came calling, including Florida State's Bobby Bowden, Ohio State's Jim Tressel and Maryland's Ralph Friedgen.

"He tells it like it is. You don't want anyone sugarcoating the truth," said Poly Prep DL Kwakou Robinson, who also considered Ohio State, Miami and Maryland. "He's not conceited, but headstrong. He told me all about who he was going to get and when he was going to get them. I was like, 'Wow.'

"I don't really see much difference between coach Friedgen and coach Groh. Both are strong-willed guys. Coach Groh gets it done a little bit better."

Parham, meanwhile, allowed that "everything's not perfect" on Groh's resume, but asks on whose resume would it be? And then there is Brooks, who received as many as five letters a day from Groh and his assistants, mail that included diagrammed plays and invitations to the bluechipper to run their defense.

"I think [Groh] seemed more serious [than other coaches] about everything," Brooks said, adding, "I didn't get all the details about him in the NFL, but I remember he could have lost a game against Tampa Bay that season and he found a way to win. Those things make me want to play for a coach like that."

Groh's experience with the Jets was also invaluable in targeting the recruits in the first place.

"We set up our priorities relating to my experience with the Jets' draft," Groh said. "We needed a cover corner. A speed receiver. A how-you-gonna-block-him nose tackle. Then we tried to fill those needs. I think we got good picks in every 'round.' "

There are other factors that guided the recruits to Charlottesville, of course, including a heralded academic reputation and a breathtakingly beautiful campus. But it is the coach who returned to his alma mater, promising to restore past glory, who deserves the real credit.

"I realize there will be some criticism of this," Groh said upon his resignation from the Jets, "but only I know my heart."

His heart was in Virginia. And now, so is the country's top talent.