COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The final game at Cole Field House was much like the first played at the storied arena. Although this time around Bob Kessler wasn't able to lead the Terrapin effort, Juan Dixon, Chris Wilcox and Lonny Baxter proved all that was necessary to lead the No. 2 Terrapins to a 112-92 victory over the Cavaliers.
The Terrapins (25-3, 15-1 ACC) came out red hot in the second half to balloon a seven-point halftime advantage up to 19 in the opening four minutes of the second stanza.
For Virginia (17-10, 7-9), matters got worse before they got better as poor Cavalier defense allowed Maryland to shoot 73 percent en route to 69 second half points.
"We couldn't play defense in the second half," Gillen said. "We executed on offense and our man-to-man's and zones gave them trouble early, but in the second half we couldn't defend."
Senior forward Chris Williams led the Cavalier effort, totaling 28 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the losing effort. These efforts came courtesy of an aggressive approach that often has eluded the Cavalier senior on the road.
"Williams stepped up, he was aggressive," Gillen said. "He had a really good offensive game."
However, the valiant efforts of Williams could not overcome several Cavalier collapses on defense.
"Defensively we didn't execute down the stretch," Virginia guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "We didn't do what we did in the last eight minutes against Duke" last Thursday.
Effective Cavalier defense stifled the Terrapins early and allowed the Cavaliers to jump out to a 19-14 advantage.
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But Maryland used a 20-5 run to grab the lead for good, and the Cavaliers would not come any closer than at the half, as Williams hit a three-pointer with time running out to cut the Virginia deficit to seven.
The Cavaliers did not hold onto that margin long, however, as the Terps' Steven Blake hit a three-pointer to open the torrential second half of scoring for Maryland.
Ineffective defense plagued Virginia in the second half as Maryland was able to get into the lane effectively and connect from close range.
"We gave them too many layups, and dunks, and easy looks from three," Williams said.
Dixon, Baxter and Wilcox were the primary recipients of these Cavalier collapses as they totaled 23, 20 and 21 points respectively.
For the Cavaliers, center Travis Watson finished the game with 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting. Mason netted 15 points for the evening.
"They're a tough team," Gillen said "With their players and their coaching and all the emotion of the evening it would have been hard for almost any team in the country to beat them."
"It's tough because this is a game you really want to win to get some momentum, but we just have to realize that the new season starts soon."
The new season begins this Friday as the Cavaliers take on N.C. State in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
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