When Maryland needed him, Greivis Vasquez delivered.
He didn't start the game after showing up late to a shootaround and had some rough times, as he had all this year, but as the Eastern Kentucky Colonels sat down two, on a run, with Maryland unable to make a shot, Vasquez did what he had to do: make big shots. He ended up with two threes in as many possessions, and sparked Maryland's offense that, at the time, was completely out of sync.
Maryland rode the momentum and ended up with an 83-72 win over EKU, putting them at 6-3 on the year.
Despite a fast start for Maryland with Vasquez on the bench (13-5 when he entered the game, up 17 shortly after), Eastern Kentucky steadily fought back and eventually tied the game in the second half on the strength of ridiculously good three point shooting and solid defense. Shortly after, Maryland's offense caught fire, spurred on by two big threes by Vasquez, who had struggled somewhat up to that point.
Sean Mosley was quiet after a breakout week that included solid games against Villanova and Indiana. Part of that might have been due to Vasquez's offensive reemergence; he led all scorers with 20 and paired that with 5 assists.
Props go out to Eric Hayes for a great performance today; he's been extremely consistent all year and had an important 14 points with 4 made threes. Landon Milbourne also quietly went about his business, returning to form with 19 points and 9 rebounds. He made big plays and didn't have too many lapses. This is the Milbourne you remember from last year.
As for Dino Gregory in his first game: he was okay, but definitely rusty. Some of his passes were iffy and his defense was inconsistent, but his jumper was absolutely money and he showed some very encouraging flashes. He probably got the start thanks to the need for perimeter defense.
EKU's shooting ability and lack of size meant that Jordan Williams wasn't very well fitted for this game: he isn't great guarding 6-6 people on the perimeter. Still, in limited time, he had 4 points and 5 rebounds, which was pretty good. He had some problems and looked very much like a freshman, but I'm still encouraged.
The strange thing was James Padgett's lack of playing time. He didn't see the floor, despite Jin Soo Choi inexplicably getting PT in a close game. I'm sure the lack of size for EKU and their perimeter shooting had plenty to do with it, but I've never been all that impressed with Choi's defense at any level. Puzzling indeed.
I'll try to go for some more analysis tomorrow, but for now, I'm okay with this result. It was closer than it should've been, that's for sure, but Vasquez looked like he was getting out of his funk and EKU is a tough team to beat when they're hot, as they were. Maryland has plenty to work on - defense especially among them - but it could've been worse.