We tried everything. Every good luck charm. Chanting for the defense.
Jumping up and down. Not unusual for being at an ACC game. Except this time we were watching at home on tv. I chewed off all of my fingernails. I assured the children that we would find a way.
Finally it was tied at 61. Maryland was going to climb the mountain. Virginia was tired and the Terps were going to take the game after being down by 9 with a few minutes to go.
Then the missed layup horror came back. Dave Neal, one of the favorite Terps of all-time, missed a point blank lay-in. There were 51 seconds left.
Mamadai Diane, from DeMatha and who looked hard at the Terps before signing with UVA, hit his last shot as a Virginia Cavalier. Maryland was done.
Jordan, all of 10 years old, said he was done with the Terps. He was almost in tears. Now we need to win at least two ACC tournament games. Not impossible, but not likley either.
It is a shame that we could not pull off one more win and assure a trip to the NCAA’s. This is a team that I have grown to love. It is easy to see that we are at a talent deficit. We are not saddled with a deficit of heart.
So on Thursday in Atlanta we get one more chance to make it to the NCAA tournament. Win or lose, there will be another game. The Terps are, at the least, going to the NIT (national invitational tournament).