ATLANTA – For the first time in 407 games, the Terrapin men’s basketball team finished a game without a single 3-point basket. Yet they still found a way to defeat Georgia Tech by double digits, 74-63.

The Terps attempted four in the first half and just two in the final 20 minutes, never really coming close to hitting one. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets sank 5-of-14 in the first half to keep pace with the surging Terps. They went just 1-of-8, though, in the second half.

It’s not just that the Terps didn’t hit a three-pointer, but that they could made one jump shot outside the painted area. Of their 74 points, 48 came inside the paint and 24 from the free throw line. Guard Sean Mosley hit the lone outside jumper, which barely constituted as one – a baseline runner just a foot or two away from the paint.

The game plan was to attack the basket against the undersized Yellow Jackets, who dressed just two players above 6-foot-5. The strategy worked, as forward Jordan Williams dominated with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while forward Dino Gregory added nine points and seven rebounds.

Still the fact the Terps won by double digits, on the road against an ACC opponent is pretty miraculous considering their poor shooting.

“We’re a very versatile team and we can score in a lot of different ways,” Williams said. “Last game we beat them in three’s. We do whatever we have to do to win the game.”

Some 3-point statistics to munch on:

- The Terps had made at least one 3-pointer in 407 straight games.

- They failed to make a 3-pointer just twice in the last 476 games.

- The last game the Terps failed to make a 3-pointer was Jan. 7, 1999 against Virginia when they went 0-for-7 in a 71-66 win.

- In the Gary Williams era the Terps have made at least one 3-pointer in 691 of 698 games.

- Since the line was implemented in 1987, the team has hit at least one in 748 of 756 games.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin men’s basketball beat reporter. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ceckard.

The Terrapin men’s basketball team took care of business in Atlanta tonight, topping Georgia Tech, 74-63.

The Yellow Jackets (10-10, 3-4 ACC) attempted a comeback, coming within four points after trailing by 13 in the second half, but the Terps (14-7, 4-3) were able to withstand the late-game surge by once again hitting clutch free throws in the second half en route to the 11-point victory.

After losing to Virginia Tech by 17 last weekend, the Terps have won three straight heading into Wednesday’s matchup against Duke, gaining some much needed momentum for the rematch with the Blue Devils.

I didn’t make the trip down to Atlanta with beat writer Chris Eckard, but I did catch the game on Comcast SportsNet. So there won’t be a column in tomorrow’s Diamondback, but you can click the jump for some quick thoughts on tonight’s game.

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I figured I would post what Linda Clement – University of Maryland’s Vice President of Student Affairs – just sent out to the entire student body regarding Wednesday night’s home basketball game against No. 3 Duke.

It starts with some information regarding “Beat Duke week” and then finishes with this:

“We remind you that we have had some post game disturbances in the past that have put people and property at risk on and off the campus.  Following last year’s home victory against Duke, six students were involved in acts of fire setting, vandalism, and other destructive acts on campus-all six were suspended under the University’s policy prohibiting riotous behavior, http://www.president.umd.edu/policies/docs/v100b.pdf.

However things unfold on Wednesday night, please be safe yourself and remind your friends about their responsibility to be good citizens.”

With a postgame bonfire schedule, there’s no reason why a riot would occur, right? Not with a large gathering of rowdy students around a large fire at the middle of the night.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin men’s basketball beat reporter. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ceckard.

The No. 14 Terps welcome independent Longwood to Comcast Center today, a matchup that presents the Terps with an opportunity for a midseason tune-up.

The Lancers come in at 4-14, and shouldn’t cause any problems for the Terps, who are riding a four-game winning streak. I’d imagine that coach Brenda Frese will use today to tinker with lineup combos and different defensive fronts.

The Terps have a tough week ahead of them after today’s matchup, heading down to Atlanta on Thursday for a game against always-tough Georgia Tech, before returning home for a game Sunday aagainst NC State.

When both primary ball handlers for the Terrapin men’s basketball team graduated last May, it left coach Gary Williams in a bind to fill the rather large hole.

He had two capable, but inexperienced, freshmen and a senior who had acted in that capacity a few times during his career. Williams went with the senior – Adrian Bowie – to start the season and the results were mixed. But since Williams moved freshmen Terrell Stoglin and Pe’Shon Howard into the starting lineup 10 games ago, Bowie has played quite efficiently in the off guard position.

His 22-point, 4 steal performance against Virginia may have been the largest evidence of the positive effects from the move back to his more natural position, but Bowie has quietly racked up double figure scoring in eight of the past nine games. His production has helped offset the struggles of forward Jordan Williams, who rarely has a one on one opportunity in the post anymore.

“It opens up more driving lanes,” Bowie said following Thursday night’s emphatic win. “Catching the ball on the wing I can either go right or I can go left.”

Bowie played on the win in each of his first three seasons for the most part, while former Terps Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes handled the point guard duties. With his move, Stoglin and Howard have become more comfortable running the offense and will continue to rack up important experience.

Williams, who was pleased with his senior’s production, also saw improvement from his two freshmen.

“Our two freshmen did a really good job at the point,” Williams said. “It’s never being a point guard if you play for a guy who played point guard… They got us into the offense. They made key plays, in other words, getting the ball to the guys who were hot.”

The Terps face Georgia Tech tomorrow night.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin men’s basketball beat reporter. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ceckard.

After a largely uneventful and ultimately unnecessary second half, the No. 14 Terps can go home with the peace of mind that they have now transformed an 0-2 conference record to a 4-2 record with four straight wins.

The Terps rode a 17-0 run to end the first half to a 75-44 victory to improve to 17-3 on the year.

While many of the usual suspects led the way for the Terps — Alyssa Thomas (19 points, 12 rebounds) and Tianna Hawkins (12 points, 12 rebounds) continued to dominate the paint — reserve guard Kim Rodgers ultimately proved to be the team’s catalyst, knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers in that first half run en route to a 17-point night.

The Demon Deacons came as advertised: mediocre at best. They shot just 28.8 percent from the field and only had two players post more than four points, prompting Terp coach Brenda Frese to start emptying her bench with just under a quarter of the game left to play.

The Terps will hope to harness their current momentum to another emphatic win Sunday, when they host Longwood for a midseason cupcake before heading down to Atlanta for a tough road match against No. 25 Georgia Tech on Thursday.

Kim Rodgers and Alyssa Thomas combined for 25 of the Terps’ 42 first half points and fueled a 17-0 run to end a sloppy first half. As former Terp Laura Harper presented the Johns Hopkins Hospital with the first donation from the Team Tyler Foundation — worth $5,000 — coach Brenda Frese and the Terps entered the locker room to discuss a sloppy first half that yielded a 42-18 lead.

The Terps didn’t look great for much of the first half, struggling with ball-control and scuffling against the mediocre Demon Deacons. But in the last four minutes of the half, the Terps took off. Rodgers hit three-straight 3-pointers to lead the run, and the Terps appear well on their way to their fourth-straight conference victory.

Check back in here for a quick recap after the game.

We’re under an hour away from tip-off here at Comcast Center, where the Terps will host Team Tyler Leukemia Awareness Night in addition to their opponent, Wake Forest.

But despite the flurry of activity no doubt scheduled throughout the course of tonight’s game, the No. 14 Terps will still have to play the game. How well will they have to perform? Who knows. The Demon Deacons (10-11, 1-4 ACC and a conference-worst 144 RPI) are pedestrian at best, having yet to beat a power-conference team other than Virginia Tech.

But I suppose that’s why they play the games. The Terps (16-3, 3-2) can extend their winning streak to four games if they take care of business, as well as continue to build momentum during what coach Brenda Frese sees as a critical stretch of home games.

I’ll check back in at halftime with an update. In the meantime, follow me at http://twitter.com/Conor__Walsh for timely updates.

Every time the Terrapin men’s basketball team looked to get the ball inside to forwards Jordan Williams or Dino Gregory, Virginia collapsed with a double or even triple team throughout the first half.

The defensive attention inside frustrated Williams, who finished with just two points and two rebounds, and forced the perimeter players for the Terps to step up.

They have as guards Terrell Stoglin, Pe’Shon Howard, Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker have all hit 3-pointers to help push the Terps to a five-point halftime lead against the Cavaliers, 25-21. With some nice shooting both from the field and at the free throw line, the Terps overcame an early deficit with a 14-1 run before the break.

Stoglin, Bowie and Tucker have combined to score 17 of the team’s 26 points, while Williams and Gregory have a combined six. The Terps are 4-for-8 from the 3-point line through 20 minutes.

Virginia, meanwhile, has seen impressive production from bigman Assane Sene, who has 10 rebounds to go along with his three points. Sene has been extremely effective in guarding Williams in the post and outrebounding the Terps’ double-double machine.

After breaking Len Elmore’s program record for double-doubles against Clemson Saturday, Williams is in serious jeopardy of ending his 13-game streak. He will need to have a huge second half performance, which isn’t out of the question, to keep it going.

Follow the rest of the game on Twitter and check the Diamondbackonline.com tomorrow for a full recap of tonight’s pivotal ACC matchup.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin men’s basketball beat reporter. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ceckard.