Usually I would call a guy with his uniform number cut in his hair a “bama”, but because it was DJ Strawberry and it was Senior Day, I gave him a get out of jail free card. Strawberry and the Maryland Terrapins practically did the electric slide on the hardwood of the Comcast Center as they defeated the North Carolina State Wolfpack 79-59 for the team’s final regular season game.

     As the Class of 2007 bid farewell to the students, alumni and fans of College Park, they showed once and for all that the past no longer haunts them. Maryland’s Coach Gary Williams said of his players, “This was Senior Day, and I am really happy for our seniors. It would have been very easy to quit at some point during the year, especially with the so-called lack of success winning 19 games in two years. They were getting compared to the teams that went further. That is a tough thing to live with. This year they kept trying to get there and they never stopped when they lost; they just gradually went to where they became a good basketball team.”

     Coming into Saturday’s match-up, the Terps weren’t just looking good, but were looking more like the ACC team to beat as they were winners of six straight, two of which were against No. 5 North Carolina and No. 14 Duke. With Sunday concluding the ACC season, Maryland finished fifth in conference as they tied with the Boston College and Virginia Tech at 10-6.

      While the Terps are now looking forward to taking on the Miami Hurricanes in the ACC Tournament in Tampa, FL Thursday, they had to take care of business at home, one last time. Given that it was Senior Day, Coach Williams felt it was only right to have a senior-based starting lineup which consisted of forwards Ekene Ibekwe and Will Bowers and guards DJ Strawberry, Parrish Brown and Mike Jones. Jones had a game high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Strawberry whose father, former MLB player Darryl Strawberry was in attendance, finished his last game in the Comcast Center with 16 points and Ibekwe went out in double double style with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

   “It's our night to say thank you to the fans and everyone that supported us,” said Jones “I wanted to go out with a bang personally and for the team, and do the best that we can to win."

      Every play the senior Terps made brought forth a buzz in the arena, including a crowd raising block by Ibekwe with 5:04 left that resulted in junior guard James Gist spearheading a lay-up for Strawberry. Though the score and stat lines may say one thing, the play of the Wolfpack was another, as they managed to stay within ten points or less of the Terps throughout the game until 7:41 remaining in the second half. Just when Coach Sidney Lowe’s team would get a three by forward Brandon Costner (who led NC State with 20 points), Maryland would get a three in return by Jones or a bucket in the paint from Ibekwe. The Terps held the Wolfpack to 37.7 field goal percent shooting, out rebounded them 47-31 and outscored them in the paint 46-34.

       With no question the game belonged to Strawberry and company, but that didn’t stop the underclassmen from knowing their role. Gist came off the bench with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting and freshman guards Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes took a backseat with six points each.

      This year was a long time coming for not only the players on Gary Williams’ team but for the fans and student body who knew that the men’s basketball program was a key factor in them wanting to attend the University. The soon to be graduating class were only little freshman in the shadows of an ACC Championship bound ball club, but in the words of the other Mike Jones, “Back then they didn’t want me, now I’m hot they all on me.”