COLLEGE PARK | It had been nearly four years since Maryland and Virginia met in basketball and more than 105 years since they first faced off on the hardwood.
The former Atlantic Coast Conference rivals raised the intensity level on Wednesday night in College Park, with Maryland students roaring throughout even though the No. 24 Terps fell to No. 4 Virginia 76-71 in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at the Xfinity Center.
“We didn’t quit,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “We have a lot of young guys. We will get better. Our fans were tremendous. Our big lineup wasn’t good enough tonight so we went small.”
Virginia has now won eight of the last nine meetings against the Terrapins, including a 5-1 mark in College Park. Cavaliers center Jack Salt had 12 points and had to guard Terrapins forward Bruno Fernando.
“I think Jack challenged himself,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.
The Terps shot 54 percent from the floor against one of the top defenses in the country.
Maryland also used the game as a tuneup for its first conference game. The Terps play Saturday at home against Penn State, which knocked off Virginia Tech on Tuesday by a point in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The Terps (6-1) were paced by Fernando, who had 10 of his 14 points in the first half while guard Anthony Cowan Jr. had 15 points. Fernando added 11 rebounds.
Virginia (7-0) was led by Kyle Guy’s 18 points, 15 from De’Andre Hunter and 17 from Ty Jerome.
The ACC-Big Ten Challenge series game pit two Top 25, 6-0 teams after Maryland made its debut in the Associated Press national poll for the first time this season on Monday.
Longtime Atlantic Coast Conference rivals before Maryland left for the Big Ten, the teams last met Dec. 3, 2014, at College Park as the Cavaliers prevailed 76-65. Wednesday was the 183rd time the schools have met in men’s basketball, and Maryland leads the series 107-76.
Virginia and Maryland were founding members of the ACC in 1953 and met twice a season for decades, with each school getting a home game as ACC foes.
For most of the 1970s, the series was dominated by Maryland with Norfolk native Lefty Driesell leading the Terrapins and Terry Holland guiding Virginia.
“Terry played for Lefty (at Davidson). They were good friends as well as rivals,” recalls Mark Newlen, who played for Virginia from 1973-77 and now lives in Richmond. Newlen notes much has changed in the ACC with conference realignment.
“You still have those rivalries but (the ACC) is so stretched out,” Newlen said. “It is hard for someone in Syracuse to get excited when Miami comes to town.”
The rivalry stayed strong through the 1980s as both programs produced NBA players, including Harrisonburg native Ralph Sampson of Virginia and Maryland’s Len Bias. Bias died of a drug overdose in 1986, hours after he was drafted by the Boston Celtics.
Duane Simpkins, 44, who grew up in the District, was a guard and three-year captain for Maryland from 1992-96.
He recalls a memorable game against Virginia on the last day of regular-season play, when Maryland needed a win to help its at-large bid for the NCAA tournament in 1994. Simpkins was a sophomore and Norfolk native and 1995 first-overall pick Joe Smith was a freshman.
“That was the first year of the Maryland resurgence after Len Bias (tragedy),” Simpkins said. “Joe had a monster game. We needed that game. … We made it to the Sweet 16 that year.”
Simpkins also recalls a one-sided loss at Virginia in 1995 when then-Maryland coach Gary Williams missed the game with pneumonia. “They beat us to death,” Simpkins said.
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