• Recap
• Bleachers

Maryland gets past Indiana 80-68 with final flurry

Dec 2, 2009 - 4:26 AM By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.(AP) -- Greivis Vasquez and Landon Milbourne delivered the one-two punch Maryland needed Tuesday night.

The combination finally knocked out Indiana.

Vasquez made 13 of 14 free throws and had 23 points, Milbourne added 19 points and seven rebounds despite playing in foul trouble, and the last flurry allowed Maryland to pull away for an 80-68 victory in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.

"We just kept running the offense, moved the ball and got to the foul line," Milbourne said. "I think that's what opened it up a little bit."

Maryland (5-2) ended a two-game losing streak with its fifth straight win in the conference challenge, and it was the ACC's first win this season in the competition, which the ACC has never lost.

It wasn't pretty, though.

The Terrapins, who beat Indiana for the 2002 national championship, needed a boxer's mentality to get through this rugged game.

Maryland committed 18 turnovers in their first trip to Bloomington compared with 16 for the Hoosiers, the first time all season the Terrapins had a higher total than their opponent. Maryland also shot 31 free throws and was shut out from 3-point range in the second half.

Indiana (3-4) had other trouble.

Point guard Jeremiah Rivers was knocked out early after running into a teammate. He returned when the back spasms settled down, and freshman Christian Watford left briefly after losing a contact lens.

That was only part of it. The Hoosiers shot a dreadful 32.9 percent from the field, were 7 of 26 on 3-pointers, and coach Tom Crean was more upset with fans using a vulgar chant near the end of the game and the Hoosiers' defensive effort than he was with Indiana's ability to hang around and have a chance.

"I love our fans, it is an unbelievable honor to coach here and in front of them but we cannot have vulgarities. It's not the Indiana way," Crean said. "As for the game, we did not defend nearly well enough to win any game."

The Hoosiers were led again by two freshmen.

Maurice Creek scored 19 points and Watford had 16. Nobody else reached double figures, though guard Verdell Jones did grab 10 rebounds.

But the young Hoosiers made life miserable for Maryland's veterans.

Indiana led most of the first half until Vasquez knocked down a 3-pointer in the final minute to give Maryland a 35-33 lead at the half.

That finally got the Terrapins righted.

"Sometimes when you go on the road, you have to take the other team's shot and they certainly came after us," coach Gary Williams said. "We were able to withstand that hit early, and that was the key - to take the hit and go play."

Maryland did exactly that in the second half.

After extending the lead 43-37, Indiana ran off six straight points to tie it with 13:37 to go, and when Devan Dumes and Creek connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, the Hoosiers suddenly led 49-48 with 11:44 left.

Over the next three minutes, the teams traded scores but neither team led by more than a point until Eric Hayes hit a 7-footer with 7:54 to go, giving Maryland the spark it so desperately needed. Hayes had two assists, giving him 400 for his career - the 12th Terrapin player to achieve that feat.

"We went (to a) zone, and that threw them off a little bit where they didn't shoot real well," Williams said. "That allowed us to get that lead back."

And this time, Indiana couldn't find an answer.

The Terrapins gave up only three baskets over the final 9:44, and although Indiana closed to 61-58 with 5:12 left, the Terrapins closed the game pulled away after that to prevent Crean from earning his 200th career victory.

"I know we're capable of playing better and I need everybody to accept that we're young and that we're in the second year of rebuilding from a train wreck," Crean said. "But in there, I'm not accepting it."

Maryland is now 8-3 all-time in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge while Indiana is 3-6. It was Maryland's first victory over the Hoosiers since the 2002 title game.