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Mosley leads No. 21 Maryland over Chaminade

Nov 24, 2009 - 5:52 AM LAHAINA, Hawaii(AP) -- Even though the game was played on a neutral court Maryland definitely felt like the unwelcome visitor.

Sean Mosley scored 19 points and the 21st-ranked Terrapins weathered a slow start and a raucous local crowd to beat Chaminade 79-51 on Monday night in the first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

The Terrapins (4-0) advanced to a semifinal meeting on Tuesday with Cincinnati, which beat No. 24 Vanderbilt 67-58 in the first round.

"That first game is always tough in any tournament but especially in this situation," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "I thought Chaminade did a great job of creating an atmosphere out there. That was like playing a road game. And that was good for us because we've played three home games.

"It's easier to play at home, there's no doubt about it."

Chaminade, the Division II hosts of the tournament, dropped to 6-59 over 26 years.

The school, which is in Honolulu on Ohau, had perhaps college basketball's greatest upset on Dec. 23, 1982 when the then-NAIA Silverswords beat No. 1 Virginia and Ralph Sampson, 77-72 in Honolulu.

Shane Hanson had 14 points and Steven Bennett added 12 for the Silverswords (0-1).

Eric Hayes scored 12 points and Landon Milbourne had 10 for the Terrapins, who will have their hands full against Cincinnati, according to Williams.

"They're as good athletically as we'll play all year," Williams said of the Bearcats. "They work hard. They play with a pretty good deal of intensity."

So do the Silverswords.

Chaminade forced turnovers on four of Maryland's first seven possessions, three by Greivis Vasquez, and Shane Hanson drained consecutive 3-pointers as the Silverswords went blow for blow with Maryland to a 14-all tie with 8:10 to play in the first half.

"That first half we were right there with them, a couple errors toward the end of the half and I think it could have been a little tighter," Chaminade coach Matt Mahar said. "They're big and they're strong and they shoot real well and they executed."

An acrobatic layup by Cliff Tucker with 7 minutes to go gave the Terrapins a two-point lead, one they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way.

"I was worried. I'm always worried. Any game I've ever coached since JV high school," Williams said. "We're trying to get better at this time of year. Whoever the best team in November is doesn't really matter come March. You want to win in November, obviously, but you also want to continue to get better. I'm going to coach for 40 minutes and try to make us better."

Mosley scored seven points in Maryland's 22-12 run that gave it a 36-24 halftime lead.

The Terrapins came out strong in the second half, stringing together a 9-2 run fueled by four points from Mosley. Chaminade wasn't about to break, though, getting a three-point play from Matt Cousins and a transition layup by Steven Bennett to be within 48-35 with 14:06 to play.

Mosley continued dominating the boards, pulling down one of his eight rebounds and putting it back to extend the lead back to 14 before it quickly ballooned to as many as 30 with just under 4 minutes to play.

"I think the first half we were rushing a lot of shots, settling for a lot of jumpers," Mosley said. "The second half we came out and started attacking the basket more."

Vasquez, a preseason all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, finished with six points on 2 of 6 shooting and had three turnovers and six assists.