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Misfiring Terps fall to Wake Forest
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Not the part of Senior Night Dave Neal wants to remember
Maryland’s NCAA tournament hopes took a blow Tuesday night as the Terps fell 65-63 to Wake Forest.
Lone senior Dave Neal scored a career-high 19 points on Senior Night, but the Terps struggled to score during a crucial stretch late in the second half and let a slim lead disappear.
Greivis Vasquez scored 16 but went only 7-for-24 from the field and threw a pass out of bounds with 26 seconds remaining. Maryland desperately missed Vasquez’s playmaking ability during the deciding second-half stretch as Eric Hayes took, and missed, three 3-pointers and a layup in the final six minutes before making a long jumper near the end of the game.
While Hayes is a nice role player, he’s not the guy the Terps want taking the important shots near the end of the game. That’s Vasquez’s job.
Wake Forest’s size advantage resulted in a 50-32 rebounding advantage, including 19 offensive boards for the Demon Deacons. The Terps also only took two free throws during the entire game, which makes it very hard to win.
Neal played great throughout, making five of his six 3-point attempts, including three in rapid succession in the second half. Unfortunately for Neal, he was posterized on a ridiculous dunk by Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague during the Demon Deacons’ second-half run (see right).
To give the Terps some credit, they played hard and stayed focused throughout the game. Gary Williams has done an excellent job of turning an inconsistent team into a reliable one.
Early in the year, Maryland fluctuated between knocking off Michigan State and losing to Morgan State. Now, the same tough, determined and scrappy team shows up every night.
Saturday’s game against Virginia is clearly now a must-win. Even with a win, the Terps likely have to win at least one game in the ACC tournament, which starts on Mar. 12, to make the Big Dance.
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)
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