So, the Terps came through tonight at home against American. It’s funny I worded it that way, instead of something like “the Terps cruised against American” or “the Terps slept walked through American.” But because of last year’s upset loss to the Eagles, there was a sense this game was bigger than your typical December non-conference tune-up.

There was no such upset in the cards tonight- the Terps ensured that from the start. From the tip they blitzed American, who returned their top three scorers from that astonishing 67-59 win at Comcast Center last year, not allowing the Eagles to score until just under the 14 minute mark in the first half.

While the Terps were in control throughout, their lead hovered around just 10 points until the decisive 22-7 run over ten minutes in the second half, fueled mostly by turnovers created from the Terps full court pressure. After a nifty Greivis Vasquez behind the back fake and lay-up, the game was effectively over, the Terps leading 65-42 with 6:49 remaining.

Other then that “revenge”angle, there wasn’t much else notable about tonight’s game. Dave Neal seems to have firmly established himself as a starter, and burst out of the gates with 12 first half points- what he called the best half he’s ever had as a Terp. Vasquez was solid but unspectacular- he didn’t need to be. Landon Milbourne also played well, sharing the scoring lead with Neal with 14 points.

Here are some quotes. You could tell the Terps had this game circled on the schedule. Just read what Vasquez had to say:

Vasquez: “We wanted to send them a message- Merry Christmas. It was painful last year. Now it’s their turn to have a tough December… This is a team we’re supposed to beat, so we beat them, we’re better than they are.”

Neal: “When we saw the schedule this season, we saw American and we wanted to beat American. We can’t lose to those teams. American is a great team, they made the tournament last year, but we can’t lose these early season games. We’ve got to come out and play hard every game. I think we did a great job.”

Coach Gary Williams: “American is not the type of team that you could just walk out there and be up 20 at halftime, they’re very tough-minded… All those guys are back, they’ve experienced a lot of things and they have a great deal of pride because of what they’ve accomplished…In the second half we played with a little more energy and our press was really effective.”

So, obviously a semi-significant win for the Terps- if only to get over one of the December non-conference opponents who doomed their NCAA tournament hopes last season. But they still have four more games like it to go until their conference-opener on Jan. 10 against Georgia Tech. Next up: Bryant University on Saturday afternoon.

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