TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- The Seminoles scored the game’s first five points and that proved to be the largest lead of a back-and-forth first half.
The Terps missed their first five shots, but the offense eventually found more continuity than it enjoyed in a loss at Clemson on Sunday. They shot 39 percent, although just four players cracked the score sheet.
The offense was stoked by runs from individual players. Jordan Williams, who picked up his second foul late in the half, scored the team’s first four points. Landon Milbourne had a run of seven straight Terp points after that. And Greivis Vasquez, who has been booed nearly every time he touches the ball, scored the Terps’ last eight points in the half. Eric Hayes also hit a shot, making him the only other Terp to score.
Florida State has predictably used an advantage on the boards to fuel their lead. They have a 26-16 total rebound lead. They’ve been paced by 11 points from Derwin Kitchen. Last time these teams met, the Terps found success getting 7-foot-1 center Solomon Alabi in foul trouble. He didn’t have any fouls in the first half, but he also wasn’t particularly dominant, though it did take a lot of the Terps’ energies to make it that way. Alabi has six points and four rebounds.
For the second straight game, the Terps aren’t in a very pretty basketball contest. But it seems like they will have a chance to win it down the stretch. The lead changed eight times in the first 20 minutes, and it’s a good bet it will change a few more times in the next 20 minutes.
The second half is about to start. Keep following on Twitter, here and at www.diamondbackonline.com for a full gamer tomorrow.
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.