Before Saturday, Maryland men?s basketball team hadn?t lost to American since the Great Depression. Now, with a short break around Christmas, the Terrapins hope to avoid falling into their own sense of hopelessness.
By falling to American, 67-59, for the first time since the 1927, Maryland has lost three straight games at home for the first time since 1993. The Terrapins are 6-6 for the first time since the 1995-96 season after ending a 14-game winning streak against the Eagles (7-5).
“It?s just killing our morale. We just stink right now,” sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez said. “We need to go out and start proving people wrong and play hard.”
The Terrapins? lack of fundamentals, especially their horrendous shooting, is most frustrating to Coach Gary Williams, who questioned his team?s desire after the game.
“You?re open from 15 feet, this is the ACC; you?re supposed to make 15-footers. You?re supposed to make 10-footers. You?re supposed to make 5-footers,” Williams said. “You?re supposed to get offensive rebounds ? not drop the ball ? and put it back in the basket. That?s what teams at this level are supposed to do, and that?s what they?ve always been doing here for 18 years.”
Maryland will not practice until Wednesday, giving the players an opportunity to spend the holidays with their families. The Terrapins host Delaware (4-6), which has won its past two games, on Friday night at 6 at Comcast Center.
Williams quipped after the loss he?d like to practice three times on Christmas, and senior forward James Gist agreed the players believed a three-day break is not in the team?s best interest.
“We just had 10 days off,” Gist said. “You?d think coming back into a game you?d be ready and be excited for it. There is a lot of individual readiness we need to get going.”
Gist, who had one the worst games of his career by scoring just three points on 1-of-4 shooting before fouling out, said the frontcourt must improve. Aside from sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes, who combined to score 44 of Maryland?s 59 points, the Terrapins shot 14.8 percent (4-of-27)from the field.
Vasquez scored a career-high 28 points, but it mattered little after the game.
“I?d rather have zero points and 20 turnovers and win the game,” Vasquez said. “It?s like a cancer on the team that?s beating us and we haven?t found the medicine to fix it. It?s sad.”
