November 29, 2002
Romas Krywonis sat on a chair in a plush visitors' locker room at the new Comcast Center Wednesday night.
Krywonis, a senior forward for The Citadel, had just watched defending national champion Maryland dismantle his Bulldogs 97-49 in a non-conference game before 17,503 fans.
A product of a Baltimore County high school, Krywonis (seven points, eight rebounds) knows very well the legacy of the ACC power and the No. 11 ranked team in the nation.
"It was a great experience. It was something I was looking forward to," Krywonis said of playing in the second men's game at the Comcast Center. "I just wish we could have represented ourselves better."
Maryland (2-0), with a swarming pressure defense and a decided height advantage, never let the Bulldogs have that chance. The Terps forced 30 turnovers, and scored 43 points off those turnovers. The Citadel (1-2) had no points off Maryland turnovers.
"This team is so fast," said Citadel coach Pat Dennis, who grew up in the Baltimore area. "Their speed is awesome. We just couldn't match their speed. I was shocked how poor we handled the press."
The Bulldogs, who trailed 43-17 at halftime, also had no answer for Maryland senior guard Drew Nicholas. He had a career-high 28 points and made five of seven shots from 3-point range.
"He cuts so hard," Dennis said of Nicholas.
"He was on a different level tonight," Krywonis said of Nicholas.
One bright spot for the Bulldogs was freshman guard Kevin Hammack, who had a team-high 19 points and made five of eight shots from 3-point range.
"It was really exciting to play in front of the family," said Hammack, who went to North County High in nearby Anne Arundel County. "But I really don't think we handled the press so well."
Wednesday's game was a stark change from Monday's loss at Navy for the Bulldogs during a two-game trip to the state of Maryland.
"It was two completely different games," Dennis said. "Navy is a grind it out team."
Senior reserve center Gregg Jones, the third resident of Maryland on the Dogs' roster, had six points and three rebounds.
Maryland took a 24-5 lead on a 3-pointer by Nicholas to end a 10-0 run with 11:37 left in the first half. The Terps led 43-17 at halftime.
"I thought our defense was consistently aggressive," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "We made a few mistakes but as long as we stay aggressive like that we are able to get steals from the full-court pressure and half-court defense, which is good to see."
The Bulldogs, after playing two games in three days, host Charle-ston Southern Monday.
"It didn't affect us too much early on, but when they started to press, we just didn't have enough zip in us," Dennis said of the busy schedule. "It would have been nice to have had a few more days to prepare for this game."
