It was exactly what Maryland needed.
The Terrapins, who had faced little resistance the past four games, which they had won by a an average of 22.7 points, finally proved they could persevere through the a sluggish start to win.
The Terrapins trailed by as many as 11 points against Charlotte (5-7) at Comcast Center before rallying for an 85-75-win against in front of a crowd of 16,423 at Comcast Center.
“Today was good for us,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “They had some athletes and some guys who can fly. We hadn’t played against that for a few games.”
The Terrapins had five players score at least double figures, led by Greivis Vaszuez (27 points) and Landon Milbourne (14 points).
Charlotte opened play by hitting four three-pointers in the first five minutes, building a lead as large as 11 points fewer than five minutes remaining. Maryland didn’t lead until Milbourne’s made a free throw a little more than two minutes into the second half. The teams traded baskets before Maryland put the game away with a a 16-0 run over a three-minute, 10-second stretch early in the second half to put the game away.
“Coach said it was the type of game we needed, one with a little controversy there at the beginning,” said junior guard Eric Hayes, who scored 10 points against the 49ers. “We did a good job getting back into the game and getting even. Then we got on a good run and put it away.”
Maryland has its final non-conference game of the year on Wednesday night at 8 against Morgan State (5-8) at Comcast Center before beginning opening Atlantic Coast Conference play against visiting Georgia Tech (8-5) on Saturday at noon.
“You have to be ready to play,” Vasquez said. “Every home game, regardless of who we play, we have to win. If we win on Wednesday and win eight home games in the ACC, we put ourselves in a really good position.”
