Forced to come off the bench as punishment for violating a team rule, Greivis Vasquez reprised his role as the “crazy guy” on the Maryland basketball team.
Which is exactly what the Terrapins needed against a very stubborn Eastern Kentucky squad.
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Vasquez scored 20 points, Landon Milbourne had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Maryland pulled away to an 83-72 victory Saturday.
Vasquez began the game on the bench after showing up late for the morning shootaround. The senior guard had started 80 straight games, a streak launched during his freshman season.
Vasquez entered with 14:14 left in the first half, and it wasn’t long before he started playing as he did last season, when he led the Terps in points, rebounds and assists.
The Venezuelan native scored 13 points after halftime, including a huge 3-pointer that put Maryland up 68-62 with 6:18 remaining.
“This was a great game for me, just to sit on the bench and see everything from the outside in, look at myself and get back to what I am. I’m the crazy guy that plays at Maryland that’s trying to make plays,” Vasquez said. “I’m going to be myself from now on.”
After being a star last season, Vasquez attempted to take a low-key approach this year, looking to pass first instead of shoot. He did both effectively against the Colonels, hitting half his 14 shots and finishing with six rebounds and five assists.
Afterward, Vasquez gave credit to coach Gary Williams for benching him after he arrived late to the shootaround because of traffic.
“I thought he did a good job just sitting me down and then coming off the bench,” Vasquez said. “It was good for me because I was going through a tough time the last eight games.”
Said Williams: “He wasn’t looking for any special treatment. … I thought that was the best game he’s played.”
Eric Hayes added 16 points for Maryland (6-3). The Terrapins never trailed, but couldn’t pull away from the pesky Colonels (7-3) until Hayes hit a 3-pointer to spark a game-ending 11-4 run.
“There were a lot of good things that happened out there today,” Williams said. “One of them was that we had to play for 40 minutes.”
Justin Stommes led Eastern Kentucky with 16 points. The Colonels placed five players in double figures.
Adrian Bowie started in place of Vasquez, joined by junior center Dino Gregory, who returned after serving an eight-game suspension for violating team rules.
Gregory made an immediate impression, sinking a jumper with 65 seconds elapsed during Maryland’s game-opening 6-0 run. He finished with eight points.
Every time the Terrapins appeared poised to pull away, the Colonels made a run. After nearly erasing a 16-point deficit in the first half, Eastern Kentucky fell behind 47-35 with 18:27 left before going on a 10-0 spree.
Maryland then used a 3-pointer by Hayes and three-point play by Vasquez to move in front by eight, but the Colonels scored 15 of the game’s next 22 points to pull even at 60 with 8:23 to go.
“We did fight back on several occasions, especially after getting down early,” coach Jeff Neubauer said. “That wasn’t good for us to get in such a hole, but I’m pleased with our effort, the way we kept competing to tie it up at 60.”
The Terrapins committed only one turnover and outscored Eastern Kentucky 9-0 at the foul line in taking a 40-32 halftime lead.
Playing for the first time since losing to No. 3 Villanova six days earlier, Maryland scored the game’s first six points. After the Colonels closed to 9-5, Hayes drilled two 3-pointers in a 15-3 spurt that put the Terrapins up by 16.
Maryland then went nearly 8 minutes without a basket, and Eastern Kentucky made four 3-pointers during a 24-9 run that made it 33-32.