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Davidson Game Recap Overall: At first I was against going to the
NIT. I thought it was below us and I kind of just wanted this season to end.
Make a fresh break for next year. But now I am glad we are in the NIT. If the
NCAA tourney gives us March Madness, I don’t know what the NIT gives us, maybe a
slight fever, but whatever it is, I’ve got it. Perhaps it is just because I
have finally seen the Terps win back to back game in what seems like forever.
But regardless, I am glad we are still dancing, even if it is with the girl no
one else wanted. With that being said the NIT delivered the Davidson Wildcats
to Comcast for a Wednesday night match up. Summary: Two things shocked me when the game
started. First thing I noticed was this game was nothing like the Oral Roberts
game. The place was packed (for NIT standards) and had a pretty good buzz
around it. I was half expecting to be watching an empty gym, hearing every word
the players say to each other, and possibly even sneaking into the student
section for old times sake. No No! It was really nice to see Comcast was
ready. I almost regretted writing that editorial the other day about our fans.
The other shock was that Davidson’s starting 5 was all white. Not really a PC
observation, but in a game so embraced by the African American community, you
just don’t see many schools in Div 1 like that any more. Well as the game started it became
abundantly clear that Davidson was no push over. Apparently some one told them
how the “3” just seems to kill Maryland time after time. We can’t stop it and
our opponents can’t seem to miss them. The game started innocent enough,
Davidson (who has a $ mascot by the way) took an early 4 point lead but a Sterbo
trifecta made it 8-7 going into the first TV timeout. Then things started
slipping away from us. The Terps were able to stay within 4-5 for the next 6
minutes but by the 10 minute mark you could tell Davidson was really feeling
like they could win this thing. Back to Back 3’s at the 6 minute mark made the
lead 11 and the small, but vocal Davidson crowd was going nuts. Then to make
things worse Davidson added a jumper and another 3 to complete the 11-0 run.
[It was during this last 3 that Bix
finally broke down. I had to do a double take when the ball was flying through
the air and I heard a “Get in there” from my left. As odd as it sounds, I knew
what he meant. We have spent the whole 2004-2005 season hoping and pulling for
things to happen that never did. To pull for a jumper and have your prayer
answered felt good, even if it was for the opposite team.] Though the Terps has sunk to a 16 point
deficit, little did we know that that 3 was going to be a turning point. Maybe
that was what Bix was thinking when he willed the ball through the hope. Down
16 with 4 minutes to play the Terps went to work. NCM ended the run with a 3
point layup, A steal and dunk by “All World” Gist cut the lead to 11. An Ibekwe
block lead to an eventual trip to the line, where the big lanky fella trimmed
another point off the lead. Gist added another jumper (with a foul) to make it
a 5 point lead. A few minutes later Ledbetter made a layup to cut it to 3.
Then with 3 seconds left Ledbetter drove the lane, drew the foul, AND hit the
basket to finish an improbable 18-0 run which tied the score at half time.
Comcast was ready to explode. Rarely does this happen, but the first half was so dramatic it kind of made the second half boring in comparison. In fact if I was a good writer, I would have written about the second half first and the first half second. But I don’t think I could sneak that one by the sharp D-7 readers. Despite the Terps scoring 14 points in 3 minutes to end the half, both squads went scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the second. Finally Garrison earned a trip to the foul line to break the drought. Seconds later an Ibekwe steal lead to a McCray dunk and going back to the first half Maryland was on a 20-0 run. Finally at the 16:34 mark, Davidson got their first basket in what must have seemed like an eternity. The Terps continued to hold off the ‘cats’ keeping them a safe 4-5 points away. Davidson did manage a tie at the 50-50 mark, but that was quickly answered by a NCM 3. The Terps went down to the wire maintaining a comfortable lead. With about 5 minutes left the Wildcats began to launch up ill advised 3 after 3, missing 6 in a row to end the game. By the time the buzzer sounded. The first half seemed like a different season and the Terps were ready for their macth up with the Horned Frogs of TCU, or the “Civil War” as it is known in Cory’s household. But that will be a different recap. Report Card: Travis Garrison: B The Good: 12 points, 2-2 from the foul line, and 6 boards. The Bad: 5-16 from the field.
Nik Caner Medley: A The Good: 5-5 from the line, 11 boards and 12 points. The Bad: 3-10 from the field,
1-4 from 3. Ekene Ibekwe: A The Good: 4-7 shooting, 9 boards (I could have sworn he had at least 20), 11 points 5 blocks!!. The Bad: 3-8 from the line. John Gilchrest: DNP The Good: Was not his last game in Comcast. The Bad: Probably won’t ever
play on that floor again anyway. Chris McCray: B- The Good: 11 points 6 boards. The Bad: 5-13 shooting, 0-3
from behind the arc, 1-3 FROM THE FOUL LINE, what the hell!! DJ Strawberry: OUT The Good: Still has 2 years of eligibility left. The Bad: Did not even look like
he was in the building. Sterling Ledbetter: A- The Good: Mr. Ledbetter, meet your future. 4-6 shooting, 1-1 from 3 and the foul line, 10 points 8 assists. The Bad: 6 turnovers.
James Gist: A+ The Good: One of the greatest b-ball players in Md history went 4-5 from the field, 7-7 from the line!!! 7 boards, and a team high 15 points. The Bad: The only bad news is
that it is not socially acceptable to clone humans…..yet. Mike Jones: B- The Good: 7 points in 11 minutes. The Bad: Did not get much burn to fill
out his stats. Will Bowers: D The Good: Only two fouls. The Bad: The good Lord giveth
nicknames and the good lord taketh nicknames. 0-3 from the field, 9 minutes.
Gini Chukura: INC The Good: Atleast his name is on the recap The Bad: If he is on here, why
have we been leaving Darien Henry off, that is kind of messed up. |