KANSAS CITY, Mo.-After pulling down 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, Cal had just three in the second.

For a small statistic, it told a big story.

Led by guard Greivis Vasquez's 27-point outbreak, 10th-seeded Maryland out-hustled, out-rebounded and out-willed Cal in a 84-71 win Thursday at the Sprint Center on the heels of a 21-8 run in the second half that began with the score knotted at 51-51.

"We didn't play as well as we're capable of," Bears coach Mike Montgomery said. "This is a stage on which you have to come out and do what you're capable of doing, maybe you have to do some things better than you've done. I didn't think we really did that."

Cal point guard Jerome Randle and forward Theo Robertson pitched in 22 and 14 points, respectively, in a losing effort, while guard Patrick Christopher shot 4-for-14 and finished with 10 points for the Bears.

"It was just one of those nights," Christopher said. "Sadly, it had to be in a game like this. It was just one of those nights."

It was indeed.

Cal entered the affair as one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, but instead it shot 7-of-24 from beyond the arc against the Terrapins, as Christopher went 0-for-7. Randle went 2-of-6 and Robertson 2-of-5.

"We were straight and hard in practice on getting out on them and getting a hand in their faces when they are shooting," Maryland guard Eric Hayes said. "They knocked some down on us, but for the majority of the game, I think we did a good job out there."

The Bears, however, allowed the Terps to shoot 49.2 percent from the field. Vasquez's line read 3-of-7 from three-point land and 10-of-21 overall.

Vasquez dominated in spurts as Christopher and freshman Jorge Gutierrez-whom Montgomery labeled the team's "best defender" following the game-took turns trying to limit the 6-foot-6 swingman.

In the first half, the guard scored nine of Maryland's 10 points from 13:43 to 10:32. In the second half, Vasquez had a hand in every basket between the 9:03 to 5:41 mark, scoring five and dishing out two assists as the Terps crafted their largest lead at 74-59 with 4:55 left.

"I don't think you can stop a guy like that," Gutierrez said. "You might slow him down or keep him to less points than he's used to, but I think we did a good job."

Outside of Vasquez, the Terps prolonged their lead in a seemingly unending series of putbacks leading up to the final whistle. Maryland pulled down eight offensive rebounds in the second half while the Bears managed just two.

Forward Jamal Boykin attributed some of Cal's inability protect its defensive glass to the Bears' being a bit out of sync in their help defense.

"We were helping a lot on our perimeter players, and when you come over to help, you need a man to cover for you," he said. "So when you come over to help and when they miss a layup or shot, they have an advantage because you overloaded on one side, and the rebound usually goes to the weak side. Then they'd grab the rebound, and it hurt us."

On paper, though, the two teams entered the game evenly matched as neither side staffs a true post presence.

In practice, the theoreticals appeared to be on the mark, as neither side led in double-digits until 8:19 left. But what happened after that mark is what determined the opponent for No. 2-seeded Memphis on Saturday.

"They played harder," Randle said. "I'm upset about the loss, but I'm actually proud of my team and the way we handled adversity. The bad stuff that was talked about us in the beginning of the season, I felt like we made big progress, and we'll be able to be a better team next year."

Tags: CAL MEN'S BASKETBALL, MIKE MONTGOMERY