Injured Hunter, Hoyas struggle against Terps

Steve Addy

Friday, March 23, 2001 | 10:37 a.m.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Demetrius Hunter kept hoping some spring would return to his step Thursday.

In the end, Hunter and his Georgetown teammates were merely bounced from the NCAA Tournament.

Essentially playing on one leg, the 6-foot-2 guard from Cheyenne High School had trouble on both ends of the court in a 76-66 loss to Maryland in the NCAA West Regional at the Arrowhead Pond.

Hunter was suffering from a sore left Achilles tendon, which was heavily wrapped, and turf toe. It clearly affected his leg push on his jump shot, and he wound up hitting only 4-of-12 overall and 3-of-9 3-pointers. He finished with 11 points in 29 minutes.

Defensively, though Hunter did a solid job on Maryland's guards, his mobility was limited. When he moved laterally, he often winced.

Hunter said in the official press conference that the injuries didn't hurt his performance, but he admitted in the locker room, "It bothered me on defense. I couldn't plant like I wanted to. That's where it gave me the most trouble."

In the first half, with Georgetown's big men rendered ineffective and lead guard Kevin Braswell walled off from the basket, Hunter got several open looks. But he shot only 3-of-9 in the half, 2-of-7 on 3s.

Insult was added to injury in the final minute of the half. With Georgetown ahead 36-34, Hunter took off for his flashiest play of the night -- a sprint up the right baseline for a one-handed tomahawk dunk.

But he lost his grip on the ball, it flew over the rim, and Maryland quickly converted on the fast break to tie it.

It was that kind of night for the Hoyas. They shot 31 percent, made only 8-of-30 3-pointers and had 16 turnovers against only seven assists.

"The bounces didn't come our way," Hunter said. "But we played hard. If we played (Maryland) 10 times, I think it would be pretty close to a split."

Former Georgetown coach John Thompson, a Las Vegas resident, was full of praise for coach Craig Esherick and his team after their 25-8 season.

"With the number of young guys they had in important roles, they had a tremendous season," Thompson said. "Hunter had a nice year, but he's still a sophomore."

Hunter started all 33 games and averaged 9.3 points.