Fueled by atmosphere, Maryland runs past Florida State, 77-68
After a slate full of Fairfields and Florida Atlantics, Comcast Center became all it can be on Sunday. At long last the Atlantic Coast Conference season has arrived, bringing lots of red, lots of noise, and lots of invective.
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Sunday night’s game even brought out former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell. All of the above served as fuel for inspired Maryland, which ran to a 77-68 victory over No. 16 Florida State before a sellout crowd of 17,295.
Propelled by seniors Greivis Vasquez (22 points, 5 assists), Eric Hayes (17 points), and Landon Milbourne (13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks), Maryland took the lead in the opening minutes and never relinquished it, repelling the long, athletic Seminoles in the second half.
“I really thought that was a good team win tonight,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams. “I just thought [Vasquez] had a terrific game along with Eric and Landon.”
With Driesell sitting courtside — across from his son, Maryland assistant coach Chuck Driesell — and flashing his signature ‘V’ for victory, Maryland (10-4, 1-0) earned its most satisfying ‘V’ this season, beating a ranked team for the first time. In the closing minutes, Terps fans mocked the Seminoles with their own tomahawk chop.
Maryland was solid in all phases, hitting 47 percent from the floor, 62 percent from 3-point-range, and out-rebounding the much bigger Seminoles, 40-34.
The Terps streaked to an early lead with Florida State center Solomon Alabi on the bench. The 7-foot-1 sophomore picked up his second foul just 2 minutes, 33 seconds into the game.
“We were trying to go inside. We didn’t have to change much going against Florida State,” said Williams. “He’s going to be a lottery pick at some point in his career. Hopefully you get lucky and get him to the bench early.”
When Alabi, the Seminoles’ leading scorer and shot blocker, went out, Florida State was leading 5-4. Late in the first half, much of which Alabi spent on the bench, Maryland had a 41-25 lead.
Leading the first half rally were Hayes and Milbourne, with 11 points each. Hayes finished 5 of 6 from the arc. Milbourne was 6 of 11 from the floor.
In the second half, FSU (13-3, 1-1) ran off 11 straight points, including five by freshman guard Michael Snaer (8 points) and four by sophomore forward Chris Singleton (12 points, 14 rebounds) to slice a 14-point deficit to 3.
But Maryland responded by scoring on its next six possessions, Vasquez hit two 3-pointers and notched nine of his points during the flurry as the Terps regained control, 62-49.
Florida State had another late run, this one fueled by Alabi (17 points, 9 rebounds) and guard Deividas Dulkys (15 points), which whittled the lead to six with 3:08 left. But Vasquez answered again with a 3-pointer after the Terps fought hard for a pair of offensive rebounds.
