After center Alex Len hit a hook inside the paint three minutes into the second half, the Terrapin men’s basketball team held its first lead of the game against Florida State.
In fact, it had been the first time the Seminoles had faced a deficit in more than 100 minutes, having never trailed in its two previous games including a 33-point blowout of No. 3 North Carolina last Saturday.
The Terps’ lead didn’t last long, in fact just seven seconds. Florida State’s Luke Louck’s nailed a 3-pointer on the next possession to spark a 21-3 run in which the Seminoles completely shutdown any offense the Terps could muster. Florida State cruised to a 84-70 victory in Tallahassee, Fla. Tuesday night. It’s Florida State’s first win against the Terps in the last four tries.
Just two days after a win against Wake Forest, the Terps had hoped to snap its five-game ACC road losing streak against the streaking Seminoles. Instead, they struggled to matchup against Florida State’s size in the paint and routinely gave up second chance points.
Forward James Padgett and centers Len and Berend Weijs all picked up two fouls in the first half trying to defend Florida State big man Bernard James, who finished with 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Guard Terrell Stoglin broke the 20-point plateau yet again, scoring 27, but he didn’t get much help. Sean Mosley looked like he re-aggravated his injured ankle and finished with three points on 1-for-3 shooting. No one aside from Stoglin scored in double figures.
Padgett, Len and Weijs combined to grab just six rebounds as they were routinely dominated the paint.
The Terps have now lost six straight ACC road games dating back to last season. They dropped their season opener at N.C. State. They’ll face Temple at the Palestra in Philadelphia on Saturday at 11 a.m.
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.