COLLEGE PARK -- A decade ago, Towson State coach Terry Truax took his Tigers into Cole Field House against a Maryland team frustrated by its inability to give former coach Lefty Driesell his 500th victory. The result was a 53-point blowout by the Terrapins.
The setting was the same last night, and so nearly was the outcome. Disappointed by their loss to fifth-ranked Massachusetts in Baltimore on Saturday, the 12th-ranked Terps took out their frustrations on the Tigers in a 120-73 victory.
It was the highest point production in Gary Williams' five-plus seasons at Maryland, and marked the fourth time this season that the Terps exceeded the 100-point mark. It was also the second-worst loss in a series in which Towson State has lost all 10 games.
"I was pleased we were ready to play tonight. I wasn't sure coming off the loss Saturday how we'd be," said Williams. "I thought our guys showed good character. We were really disappointed after that game. We came ready to play."
Maryland (7-2) placed a season-high seven players in double figures, led by Keith Booth's 18 points. It matched a career high for the former Dunbar High star set last year against the Tigers. The 6-foot-5 sophomore forward missed reaching the 20-point mark when he banged a dunk attempt off the back of the rim in the second half.
"I guess we inspire him," said Truax, whose team hung around for about 10 minutes before Maryland ran out to a 27-point halftime lead.
The Tigers, who saw their modest two-game winning streak broken in a pair of 60-point halves, inspired a bunch of Terps. Junior forward Exree Hipp, who disappeared against the Minutemen, reappeared for a solid 16-point, five-rebound, five-assist game. All-American Joe Smith had 14 points and eight rebounds.
But perhaps the most inspiration was provided for, as well as by, Sarunas Jasikevicius. The muscular freshman guard, who had played sparingly this season and didn't take his warm-ups off at the Baltimore Arena, got his teammates and a crowd of 11,237 -- not to mention Williams -- excited by his career-high 14-point performance.
"It was definitely my opportunity to show I can play at this level," said Jasikevicius, who made five of his six shots and all three of his three-point tries. "I'm going to keep playing hard. Most of the guys were tired [from Saturday], but I wasn't. I went in there looking for my shot."
Said Williams: "I didn't think Saturday was the right situation. I've seen players lose it for a whole season by one bad experience. I wanted to get Sarunas in early and get him some time. The same for Rodney [Elliott]. Hopefully, they'll be ready by Jan. 4 when we start the ACC."
Williams is also hopeful that Duane Simpkins returns to form by the time Maryland opens its conference season. The junior point guard has struggled at times this season, but no more than in a three-point, five-turnover performance in an 85-74 loss to the Minutemen.
It caused Simpkins to break down in the locker room afterward, and contributed to his missing a team meeting Sunday. That led to Simpkins not starting for the first time since his freshman year, a stretch of 38 straight games.
"I had some personal stuff I had to take care of with myself and my family," Simpkins said in explaining his tardiness to practice Sunday.
Williams put Simpkins in with 7:40 left in the first half, with Maryland already up 14 and the coach having already made six substitutions. Simpkins wound up starting the second half, but continued to struggle. He finished with four points, all from the free-throw line, and made three turnovers in 14 minutes.
Asked if Simpkins will start Maryland's next game, which comes after a 10-day break for exams, Williams said, "Just like he did in the second half."
The only other blip on the screen for Maryland last night was its free-throw shooting, which contributed heavily to Saturday's loss. The Terps were only 38 of 56 from the line last night, with Smith uncharacteristically missing eight of 14.
But it didn't matter because the Tigers, after a hot start, cooled off considerably. After hitting eight of its first 12 shots to trail by only one, 20-19, with a little more than six minutes gone in the game, Towson State missed 35 of 53 the rest of the way. Junior guard Ralph Blalock led Towson State (3-3) with 13 points, but 11 of them came in the first 10 minutes.
"I'm disappointed that our team didn't represent itself better," said Truax, who picked up one of three technical fouls called on the Tigers. "Maryland had a lot to do with it. They came back from a tough loss and played very hard. They're ready to take the next charge. I hope after a game like this we are, too."
NOTES: The Terps dropped one spot in the Associated Press poll and are five spots below where they started the season. . . . Maryland plays next at home against Morgan State on Dec. 23, and Towson State plays host to Delaware on Saturday.