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 perim-