Tracy Smith’s putback with 38 seconds left in the first half brought the Wolfpack within four, but four Eric Hayes free throws in the last 11 seconds gave the Terps their current margin.

Buoyed by an enthusiastic home crowd and a confident offensive boost from Cliff Tucker off the bench, the Terps have been in control for most of the half.

A 12-2 run that took less than two minutes to complete put the Terps up 20-10 with 12:52 left in the half. The Terps kept a similar lead for much of the half before guard Javier Gonzalez got hot late in the half with eight of his game-high 11 in the last six minutes of the half.

The Terps have found success thanks to an unexpected advantage in the front court. The Terps biggest concern coming in was N.C. State forward Tracy Smith. However, the Terps have done an efficient job helping against him on defense and the 6-foot-8 junior has just six points and three rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting.

Meanwhile, the Terps’ inside game has been strong. Jordan Williams scored four of the Terps’ first six points on a pair of putbacks and has eight points at the break. Landon Milbourne leads the Terps with 10 points and has been tough inside as well.

The rebounding battle is tied at 18, but the Terps hold an 11-5 edge in second chance points. The Terps have also benefitted from shooting 14 more free throws than the Wolfpack (16-2).

Guard Greivis Vasquez has been quiet thus far with just two points on 1-of-3 shooting. Vasquez, who took a career-high 27 shots in a loss to Wake Forest two weeks ago, didn’t hoist his first shot attempt until nearly 14 minutes into the game, but he does have four assists.

How well the Terps continue to keep Smith in check and can clear the defensive glass will likely dictate the course of the second half.

Check back for more later, here and at www.diamondbackonline.com.

Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Men’s Basketball Team beat writer. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edetweiler.

The old saying goes “You’re only as good as your last game.”

If that’s really the case, then the Terps will face one of their tougher tests on this young ACC season with tonight’s game against N.C. State at Comcast Center.

The Wolfpack handled No. 7 Duke 88-74 in Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday. After a very uneven start to the season, N.C. State (13-6, ACC 2-3) has a pair of wins against ranked teams and a close loss to now-No. 17 Clemson in their last three contests.

“State’s as good as anybody right now,” coach Gary Williams said. “They proved it the other night.”

The Terps, who will need to find a way to slow down N.C. State big man Tracy Smith, are kicking off a two-game ACC home stand that also includes Tuesday’s game against Miami. Just a game behind Virginia, the ACC’s lone unbeaten team in conference play, the Terps will try to pad their conference win total before a pair of tough road games after that.

The Terps have some momentum of their own after winning four of their five games in 2010. That includes a 51-point pounding of Longwood in this building earlier this week, which included a game-high 21 points from Sean Mosley on 8-of-8 shooting from the field.

This game will no doubt be tougher than that, but with the students filing back onto campus in preparation of Monday’s first day of classes and ESPN2 showing the game, there should be the best atmosphere we’ve seen here this season. The Terps are also back in their gold jerseys again today after winning in their ACC home opener against Florida State on Jan. 10.

If you’re looking for interesting numbers, it’s also coach Gary Williams’ 1,000 career game. And when Greivis Vasquez plays the first four minutes of this game, he will have played more than 4,000 minutes as a Terp.

There doesn’t seem to be much more new news to report as the Terps go through shooting drills about 40 minutes until the scheduled opening tip.

Check back for more later, here and at www.diamondbackonline.com.

Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Men’s Basketball Team beat writer. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edetweiler.

Gary Williams has the sixth most wins of any active Division I men’s basketball coach.

In 32 seasons with four different programs, Williams has compiled 637 wins and guided the Terps to 16 straight postseason appearances, including the 2002 National Championship.

The 21st-year Terp coach’s list of career accomplishments and records spans two full pages in the team’s pregame media notes.

But Friday afternoon, when given the opportunity to look back on his coaching career in anticipation of his 1,000 career game as coach on Saturday against N.C. State, Williams chose a simple accomplishment to focus on.

Since taking over at American in 1978, Williams has never been unemployed.

“I know a lot of great coaches, I mean in terms of X’s and O’s and knowing the game, who aren’t coaching now that are my age,” the 64-year old said.

In the face of the forthcoming longevity milestone, Williams begrudgingly took a look back on a career that continues to become more decorated with each passing season.

Williams, who noted that sustaining success becomes more difficult each year, pointed to his passion for teaching the game and finding a positive fit at his alma mater as factors in his success.

While at times he has been quick to outline his program’s accomplishments as a means of showing the Terps’ place on the national stage, Williams modestly assessed his impact as a coach.

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