TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – If you read my gamer in today’s paper, you know the emphasis that I clearly placed on the charge that Dino Gregory took on Michael Snaer with 14 seconds left in last night’s 71-67 win at Florida State.
Greivis Vasquez said it was ”the reason we won the game.”
An improved second half offense and senior leadership also contributed, but a hostile (read: mostly vulgar) crowd really seemed to believe the Seminoles were going to squeeze out a win until that play.
Especially on a day when four starters combined to score literally 94 percent of the team’s points and all of its field goals, Gregory’s play, coupled with a pair of key free throws he hit with 2:21 remaining in a then-tie game, served as the needed bench boost.
“Dino Gregory, who hasn’t been doing a lot of things for us, was big,” coach Gary Williams said as part of his opening statement. “He took the charge, plus he made a couple of really good defensive plays down there and made two big free throws himself, so it was a team effort.”
Now, to the play itself. Gregory entered when Jordan Williams picked up his fourth foul with 4:31 remaining. The 6-foot-7 junior clearly had more trouble controlling 7-foot-1 center Solomon Alabi than Williams, but that can be expected. But his key defensive play had little to do with Florida State’s gem of a big man.
Landon Milbourne called Gregory “definitely the best charge taker on this team.” Gregory drew a first half charge call on a very questionable call where he really didn’t have time to set up before taking the impact. The call on Snaer, who fouled out on the play, was much more clear cut.
“He’s always there,” Milbourne said. “I’m just glad he got a chance to get that call tonight.”
Maybe most indicative of what the play meant was the reaction of Jordan Williams, who watched most of the closing minutes from the bench despite continuing his recent strong play.
Looking back on the box score in a few weeks, it’ll be easier to remember the starters’ offensive impact or to remember the abuse Vasquez took from the fans before getting the last laugh.
But Gregory’s tough playing down the stretch against the Seminoles on a day when the bench was virtually non-existent might have won the Terps the game.
“I was so happy for him,” Jordan Williams said. “He works so hard—on and off the court—being a good teammate and working hard at practice. He needed that. He’s a big part of our team.”
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.