Maryland Beats Boston College 81-65
By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- The focus was on playing as a team, a mandate given by Maryland coach Mark Turgeon to a squad that previously displayed an inability to share the basketball.
On this night, the Terrapins complied. The result was their most lopsided win of the season, an 81-65 rout of struggling Boston College on Thursday.
Terrell Stoglin scored 19 of his 24 points in the decisive first half, James Padgett scored 15, Nick Faust had 14 and Sean Mosley added 13 for Maryland (15-10, 5-6 Atlantic Coast Conference).
The Terrapins made 28 baskets and had 15 assists, further proof that the players got Turgeon's message in the wake of Saturday's disheartening 18-point loss at Duke.
"We talked about being a team, and being a family and being together and doing it for your teammates," Turgeon said. "I
thought we did that. We shared the ball better than we did all year, we executed well. I'm really happy and pleased with the guys."
It was a team effort, but as usual, Stoglin was the difference-maker. He went 7 for 10 from the field before halftime
and put the Terrapins in front for good by scoring 14 consecutive points over a three-minute span.
The ACC scoring leader finished 5 for 8 from beyond the arc in his 18th game with at least 20 points.
"Today everybody was playing off each other," said Stoglin, who has 68 3-pointers this season, most ever by a Maryland
sophomore (Greivis Vasquez had 64 in 2007-08).
Maryland led by 19 with 13 minutes elapsed and 41-27 at halftime. After Boston College scored the first six points of the
second half, three-point plays by Faust and Padgett ignited a 9-2 spree that made it 50-35.
The Eagles (8-18, 3-9) closed to 63-56 with three minutes left but could not complete the comeback.
"I think we lost the game in the first eight minutes," Boston College coach Steve Donahue said. "They played really well at the start and we turned the ball over. After the first eight minutes, it was a pretty even game."
Freshman Ryan Anderson led Boston College with a career-high 22 points and Lonnie Jackson had 19. The Eagles have lost eight of nine and remain the only team in the ACC without a road win (0-7).
"For the first time in a while we didn't compete as well as we have been," Donahue said. "There were some 50-50 balls that went their way. We just didn't have a good body language going."
Anderson scored BC's first five points as the Eagles built a 10-4 lead. Stoglin then connected from long range, followed with a jumper in the lane and tacked on three straight 3-pointers to complete a very personal 14-0 run.
"I was feeling real good," Stoglin said. "Before the game I was telling myself I didn't want to miss today because of the Duke game (when he went 4 for 16 from the field). I just wanted to make shots today."
After Dennis Clifford made two foul shots for Boston College, the Terrapins resumed their long-range barrage. Faust, Mychal Parker and Mosley all drilled 3s, and a layup by Faust made it 29-12. At that point, Maryland was 11 for 15 from the field, including 6 for 8 beyond the arc.
It was 33-14 before Boston College got a pair of 3s from Jackson in an 8-0 burst. Mosley stemmed the surge by scoring in the lane and Stoglin added a layup.
After that, the Terrapins were never pressed. Teamwork, it seems, is a good thing for Maryland. Whether it continues remains to be seen.
"It's one night," Turgeon said. "We'll see. We'll see."
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
