Terps End Hoyas’ Run

Ruthie Braunstein/The Hoya Maryland’s Lonny Baxter (35) beats Gerald Riley (32) to one of his 16 rebounds in the Hoyas’ 76-66 loss to the Terrapins last night. ANAHEIM, Calif. – It was touted as one of the biggest matchups of the 2001 NCAA Tournament: local rivals Maryland and Georgetown squaring off in the West Regional Semifinal of the NCAA Tournament and playing for Beltway bragging rights. It was complicated by circumstance – the teams traveled 3,000 miles to play at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. It was an unlikely game in an unlikely place and in the end, the Hoyas’ season ended with a flight back to the East Coast while the Terps will continue their quest for a Final Four berth.

After 40 hard-fought minutes, Maryland (24-10) downed Georgetown 76-66 last night, though the game was closer than the Terps’ margin of victory indicates.

“I was not dissatisfied with how we played,” Head Coach Craig Esherick said. “We battled the entire game.”

Georgetown led for much of the first half, hitting key three-pointers and capitalizing on the height advantage of their lineup to muscle in for the inside points. But Maryland’s second-half zone defense forced Georgetown to change their offensive patterns and the Hoyas spent much of the second half playing catch-up, never managing to pull closer than three points. eanwhile, Maryland dominated Georgetown on the boards, aggressively attacking rebounding opportunities for a 51-41 advantage on the glass.

“Maryland played extremely well and deserved to win,” Esherick said.

Each team knew the other’s playing style and tested the other in the first minutes of the game, with Georgetown tough on aryland’s perimeter offense and Maryland aggressive against the Hoya big men. But Maryland, one of the few teams comparable to Georgetown in height and depth, overpowered the Hoyas down the stretch in both respects. Drawing on starting 6-foot-8 center Lonny Baxter, 6-foot-10 reserve Tahj Holden and 6-foot-8 reserve Danny iller, the Terps powered their offense with aggressive play down low.

Georgetown used its interior strength in the first half to score points in the low post. While the Hoyas limited the Terps’ outside shots, forcing guards Steve Blake and Juan Dixon to move the ball inside, Baxter became Maryland’s leading offensive threat. Baxter was 9 of 13 against Georgetown’s taller defensive line and scored 26 points while pulling down 14 rebounds.

After freshman forward Gerald Riley hit a three-pointer for the Hoyas 11 minutes into the first half, tying the game at 18, the Hoyas went on an offensive run. Three-pointers by senior Anthony Perry and sophomore Demetrius Hunter helped the Hoyas maintain their lead until the Terps switched their zone patterns, forcing the Hoyas to change their offensive movements. With the Hoyas accumulating fouls and the Terps hitting their free throws, aryland managed to cut into Georgetown’s advantage. Maryland reserve center Mike Mardesich hit a jumper to tie the game at 36 with 0.4 seconds left in the half. Then Maryland forward Byron outon reached down the lane and lofted in an easy putback and the Terps took a 38-36 advantage going into the half.

Led by Baxter’s play, Maryland went on a 16-9 run early in the second half and never gave up their advantage. Georgetown managed to pull within three points twice, but that was the closest the Hoyas ever got. Maryland’s zone defense in the second half hindered Georgetown’s inside play and forced Georgetown to attempt more difficult shots. The Hoyas made just 10 of 36 field goal attempts in the second half, including 4 of 18 from three-point range.

Georgetown big men senior Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje and sophomore Wesley Wilson both struggled to contain Baxter, racking up the fouls as Baxter drove to the hoop. Wilson picked up four fouls while Boumtje-Boumtje fouled out in the final seconds of his last contest in a Georgetown jersey.

The Maryland-Georgetown contest was even more dynamic because opposing point guards Juan Dixon and junior Kevin Braswell have been best friends since they met in sixth grade in Baltimore. They have played together in summer leagues and pick-up games but had never faced each other in a collegiate game until last night.

Braswell led the Hoyas with 17 points and six rebounds while Dixon put up 13 points with five rebounds. Braswell was congratulatory toward Dixon and the two hugged after the game.

“[He said] keep my head up and call him as soon as I get back,” Braswell said.

For Georgetown, the loss ends a season that has seen the reemergence of the Georgetown program as a legitimate threat in the Big East Conference and on the national scene. The Hoyas end the season with a 25-8 record and will lose four players to graduation. Seniors Boumte-Boumtje, Perry, Nathaniel Burton and Lee Scruggs will all be graduating in May 2001.

“I feel bad for Nate, bad for Ruben, bad for Anthony, bad for Lee that we lost this game,” Esherick said.

But Esherick also noted that the tournament experience has been educational for the underclassmen and said he was proud of the team’s accomplishments.

“Our guys worked exceptionally hard and that’s a credit to the four seniors and that’s a credit to Kevin Braswell,” he said.