WASHINGTON - One day after he questioned the desire of his team, especially the seniors charged with anchoring it, Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams was served a reminder that his Terrapins still have a strong heartbeat.
One day after the Terps suffered a discouraging loss to Notre Dame with uninspired conduct hardly befitting a defending national champion, No. 9 Maryland regained some confidence yesterday by asserting its talent and some fire in rolling to a 93-82 victory over unranked George Washington in the consolation game of the BB&T; Classic at MCI Center.
Maryland (4-2), which avoided its first three-game losing streak since February 2001 and now sets its sights on visiting No. 8 Florida on Saturday, averted disaster by leaning on its senior backcourt of Steve Blake and Drew Nicholas. Those two scored 27 points each - Blake reached a career high - and made a combined 19 of 30 field-goal attempts, including 10 of 14 from three-point range.
This victory was all about waking up after a puzzling sleepwalk, about tapping some pride after a lifeless 12-point loss to a Fighting Irish team that went on to knock off No. 2 Texas and take the tournament the Terps thought they could win.
Instead, Maryland found itself playing in the consolation round for the first time since the inaugural year of the eighth annual BB&T.;
"We're a lot better off right now than we were this time [on Saturday]," Williams said. "That's a confidence shaker. [Losing to] Indiana was one thing, but the way we played against Notre Dame, we didn't feel good about that at all.
"I was really proud of the way the players got ready to play. Maryland is not supposed to play in the consolation game. We had to really dig down, pride-wise. This lets us know we can be good. We're not there yet. This is a work in progress. It lets us know we're on our way to being a good team."
There was a different face on Maryland yesterday. From the outset against a Colonials (3-3) team that hung tough Saturday with Texas, the Terps were resigned to running a smarter, crisper offense than the ragged attack they displayed against the Irish.
Even as George Washington used its offensive-rebounding ability and foul shooting to take a 31-19 lead midway through the first half, the Terps did not panic, running their half-court set and their fast break efficiently. And they got excellent results by moving Blake to the off-guard while freshman John Gilchrist handled the point for 14 minutes.
Maryland, which got 20 first-half points from Nicholas, made its first telling move in the final 10 minutes of the half with a 29-12 run that put George Washington in a 48-43 hole at halftime. The Terps then threw the hammer down in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, with Blake and Nicholas driving the action.
And when freshman forward Travis Garrison (10 points, six rebounds) converted an assist from Tahj Holden (12 points, five rebounds, four assists) with 9:46 left in the game, Maryland was comfortably on top, 80-59. Only a late 19-6 run by the Colonials made things mildly interesting.
Guard Chris Monroe led George Washington with 19 points. Forward Omar Williams had 17 points and eight rebounds.
"This is the biggest win of the season so far, one of the things that shows what kind of team we are," Nicholas said.
"This shows we love the game of basketball. We're still kids loving the game we've played since we were 9 or 10 years old. I'm a senior, and at no time am I going to quit. We could have let our heads down after we were down by 12. I'm not going out like that."
Maryland was far from perfect. The Colonials beat them consistently on the boards, especially at the offensive end. But the Terps passed the ball intelligently out of double-teams in the post and settled for the right shots often.
One day after recording only 10 assists against Notre Dame, Maryland had 24. One day after shooting 29 percent in the first half against Notre Dame, the Terps made 55 percent of their shots overall, including a season-best 70.6 percent from beyond the arc. Blake and Nicholas each shot 5-for-7 from three-point range.
"Against Notre Dame, it looked like we were forced to be out there at times," said Holden, who said some of the seniors met privately after the loss. "Today, there was a little bit of emotion and a lot of having fun."
What a contrast a day made. Williams, dejected after the whipping by the Irish, spotted ex-Terp and current Washington Wizards rookie Juan Dixon - who led Maryland to its national title - outside the Terps locker room Saturday and playfully asked him if he had any collegiate eligibility left.
Williams then questioned the intestinal fortitude of his seniors by saying, "I think it's hard for the seniors to get excited. They will always have that national championship. This year, what do we want? It's got to come from the older players. What do we want to be this year?"
Yesterday, Williams got a piece of the answer he wanted to see.