Terps capture Classic crown

NEW YORK — It had been a long, long time since the Maryland basketball team could storm the court to celebrate a tournament title.

All right, it was less than three years ago, when the Terrapins earned a stunning ACC tournament title in March 2004. Since then, the program has experienced a downward spiral into an abyss of consecutive NIT appearances.

So it was hardly a surprise the Terps reacted with as much relief and joy as they stormed the court to celebrate their 62-60 victory over Michigan State, earning them the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic championship they came to the Big Apple to collect.

It wouldn’t have happened last season, a refrain becoming common when comparing this edition of the Terps to its two immediate basketball IQ-deficient and NIT-bound predecessors.

But as if the point needed to be made yet again in the opening weeks of the season, this is looking like a very different year.

“It’s still early in the early,” Terps guard D.J. Strawberry said. “We have a long e to go, even before we get to ACC play. But this a great way to start.”

Strawberry scored 17 points for the Terps (5-0), who are off to their best start since they won 10 straight to open the 1998-99 season. He also found himself running the offense at times in the second half as Eric Hayes sat for stretches because of foul trouble.

Strawberry missed two free throws that could have secured a win with 4.5 seconds left, but Mike Jones committed a savvy foul on Drew Neitzel to force the Spartans to the foul line and avert a 3-point attempt. Neitzel split the free throws, and the carom bounced harmlessly away.

“He’s just dedicated himself to being a good player,” coach Gary Williams said. “He’s really on the rise as a basketball player. But his biggest concern is making us a good team.”

Maryland has trailed for exactly two minutes in five games, but it very nearly became more. Michigan State (4-1) edged close several times in the second half, even after Neal’s basket made it 52-44. Neitzel’s 3-pointer pulled the Spartans within 52-51, but Jones responded with an NBA-range 3 on the next possession.

Neitzel scored again the next time down the floor, only for Vasquez to deliver an even deeper 3 and James Gist (14 points) to slam home a Strawberry feed to make it 60-53.

The most troubling aspect of the Terps’ performance was their shaky rebounding, a problem that was magnified in the second half as Michigan State built a 36-21 edge on the glass. The Spartans routinely extended possessions with offensive rebounds, helping to cut into a deficit that reached double figures early in the second half.

A day removed from a complete thrashing of St. John’s, the Terps were a bit sloppier against Michigan State. It was probably to be expected — the Spartans were a tougher foe, and the effect of playing on consecutive days figured to catch up even to a team that was in control of the final 30 minutes a night earlier.

The Terps committed 18 turnovers, but the sweltering defense Maryland prided itself on during its road to the title game was effective in the first half, vexing the Spartans off and on. Strawberry was both the primary pest and the main offensive beneficiary of the Terps’ pressure, hitting a 3-pointer before forcing a steal and cruising in for a fast-break dunk.

Maryland nursed a lead throughout the half before it went to a lineup that included Vasquez, Parrish Brown and Bambale Osby. It ultimately worked, with Vasquez twirling in the lane for a basket as the shot clock wound down and then drawing a charge on the next possession, prompting Williams to slap the freshman on the back and shout “Way to go.”

It was a scene — like the hoisting of any kind of championship trophy — absent from last season. That made its inclusion especially appropriate in a game that proved once more just how much things seem to have changed.

“They were bigger than us, and they were stronger than us,” Strawberry said. “This team is definitely different than last year. We played with a lot of energy.”