Dec. 8, 1997

Maryland Falls to George Washington

WASHINGTON D.C. - Shawnta Rogers scored 23 points as George Washington defeated 22nd-ranked Maryland for the first time in 20 years, 70-66, to capture the championship of the Franklin Bank Classic in Washington, D.C.

George Washington (7-2), which leads the series 33-30, had not beaten the Terrapins since a 101-90 victory on December 10th, 1977.

"Needless to say, a great, great team effort," said George Washington coach Mike Jarvis. "A great victory. I'm really proud of our guys, not just for winning this tournament but for believing in each other and really pulling together like they did tonight. It was a great effort and a game that I think will certainly go down as one of the more memorable in George Washington University history."

Maryland (4-3), which shocked third-ranked Kansas, 86-83, on Sunday to reach the title game, lost for the second time in three contests.

The Colonials trailed 62-61 with 3:30 remaining but ran off eight straight points to take control. Laron Profit's layup with one second to play was Maryland's only field goal during that stretch.

"We were getting the loose balls and rebounding and that was the important thing," said Rogers, who was voted the tournament Most Valuable Player. My guys were rebounding well, we ran well and we were hitting free throws down the stetch. We know we are a good team, its just a matter of us going out and playing every night."

Yegor Mescheriakov had 19 points and Alexander Koul added 15 for George Washington, which won despite shooting just 45 percent (26-of-58) from the field and committing 15 turnovers.

The Terrapins connected on 24-of-56 (43 percent) from the field, including just 3-of-13 three-pointers. Profit led the way with 15 points, while Sarunas Jasikevicius added 14. Obinna Ekezie had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"This is a good lesson for us in that each time you go out, especially if you do have a good win, teams get ready to play against you," said Maryland coach Gary Williams. "And you have to be ready because once we start our season there is not too many nights off in the conference season. You have to be ready to play the next night and obviously we have a lesson to learn. Hopefully we will go from here."

George Washington, which held a 37-31 advantage on the boards, held Maryland to just nine offensive rebounds while pulling down 14 of its own. The Colonials play at Old Dominion on Saturday before beginning a three-game homestand against North Carlina-Charlotte on December 20th.

Maryland begins a three-game homestand of its own on Saturday against Maryland-Baltimore County.

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