(DCist would like to welcome our new college basketball correspondent Hayden Alfano) Maryland’s men’s basketball team used a full-court press defense to force 22 Minnesota turnovers, pulling away in the second half for an 83-66 victory over the Golden Gophers last night as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Travis Garrison paced the Terrapins with 18 points, becoming the fourth player to lead the team in scoring in the first six games. Regardless of the…

(Editor’s Note: DCist would like to welcome another new member to our Sports staff. Hayden Alfano will be covering the local college hoops beat as well as assisting in our upcoming coverage of the 2005 NBA Draft.) After a grueling season, college basketball coaches have little time to relax. The recruiting trail beckons, and they lay awake at night worrying if any of their players will declare early for the NBA Draft. Local hoops coaches…

>> George Washington moved into sole possession of first place in the West Division of at A10 with an improbable 30 foot buzzer beater by Carl Elliott. “I knew it had the right arc, but I couldn’t tell if it was going to go in or not,” George Washington Coach Karl Hobbs told the Post. “I looked at the clock and I knew he had gotten it off in plenty of time. I told the…

>> The Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team has just five losses in the last 11 months, and after falling to Maryland 99-92 in OT on Saturday night, Maryland can lay claim to three of them. Maryland’s victory marks the first time in a decade that the Terps have taken the season series from the Blue Devils. Emotions were high in College Park throughout the game. JJ Redick got into it with Chris McCray and…

Alrighty then, so much for momentum. After seemingly turning their lost season around with big victories over Duke and Georgia Tech (two Final Four participants from last year), Maryland laid an egg last night by losing on the road to ACC doormat Clemson. The 88-73 win marked the Tigers first victory over Maryland since the last millenium. “We’re still trying to find our identity in terms of being able to play hard every night,” Maryland…