COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Several former Maryland basketball standouts were back on campus Tuesday as the Terps hosted Georgetown in a nationally televised game before a loud crowd of 17,950 fans.

Former NBA first-round draft pick Joe Smith was in the arena several hours before the game, and with about five minutes left in the contest, Greivis Vasquez, a fan favorite just a few years removed from his college days, entered the arena across from the Maryland bench.

Vasquez, now with the Milwaukee Bucks, played just a few miles away against the host Washington Wizards earlier in the evening and made it to the Maryland campus in time to see his former team come back and beat Georgetown 75-71.

"There is a lot of pride in this program," said Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, whose team is ranked No. 3 in the country. "It was great to be a college basketball fan today. Today was definitely good for basketball. This is a game we will be talking about for a while. I don't think you could write a better script. It went down to the wire."

Maryland guard Melo Trimble had 24 points, forward Jake Layman had all of his 15 points in the second half, forward Robert Carter had 12 points and eight rebounds, and guard Rasheed Sulaimon had 10 points and seven assists.

Sulaimon gives the Terps (2-0) another strong guard who can pass, taking some of the pressure off Trimble.

"That was really important," Trimble said.

Georgetown center Bradley Hayes had 16 points and eight rebounds. Guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera had 14 points, forwards Isaac Copeland and Marcus Derrickson each had 13 points, and guard L.J. Peak had 12 points as all five starters scored in double figures for the Hoyas (0-2).

The two schools used to play on a regular basis from 1947 to 1976. However, perhaps due to some hard feelings between former coaches Lefty Driesell of Maryland and John Thompson Jr. of Georgetown, the series has been dormant for decades.

The game Tuesday was the first time the schools met in a regular-season game since 1993 and the first time Georgetown played in College Park since Dec. 11, 1973.

Maryland fans were treated to a classic, as Sulaimon put his team ahead for good at 71-68 on a 3-pointer with 1:18 left in the contest.

Trimble hit two free throws with 12.3 seconds left before Smith-Rivera hit a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds to go to trim the margin to 73-71. Trimble made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left to seal the win.

"I just took the shot with confidence," said Sulaimon, a transfer from Duke. "The atmosphere out there was crazy. We tried to feed off the energy."

Turgeon said of Sulaimon, "He has been around the block and back. We knew he would be fine in these big games. I thought he was great defensively. He is such a good playmaker for us. Of course he hit the big three."

Maryland made 23 of 32 free throws, while the Hoyas were nine of 12 from the charity stripe. Georgetown was whistled for 25 fouls, while Maryland committed 15.

"They hit some big threes," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "We got in foul trouble."

The Hoyas also had to deal with the loss of top reserve guard Tre Campbell, who told Thompson at halftime that he couldn't go in the second half, perhaps due to injury. "Which made our bench even shorter," Thompson said.

The Terps shot 50 percent from the field in the first half.

"We have to figure out how to stop people," Copeland said. "We have to figure out how to win some games."

Hayes averaged 0.9 points per game last season but now has 35 points in the first two games this season.

"I just wanted to come out and play as physical as possible," Hayes said. "Obviously, I had an OK game on offense. I have to do more on defense. That is where the team needed me."

The Hoyas, despite winning the battle of the boards, 36-28, fell to 0-2 for the first time since 1998-99.

"Wow. What a game," Turgeon said. "Our fans were absolutely phenomenal. Georgetown was terrific. It was just a great win for us. We were lucky to win. We will take it. We were never really relaxed on offense. We were fortunate tonight. Our communication wasn't great."

But the timing for Vasquez certainly was.

NOTES: The last time the teams met in the Washington area was in 1993, when the Terps won 84-83 in overtime in Landover, Md., at the former home of the Hoyas in the first college game for Joe Smith of the Terps. ... The contest was part of clashes between teams from the Big 10 and Big East in a Gavitt Tipoff Game. ... Former Maryland star Walt Williams and ex-Georgetown standout Pat Ewing were recognized during the first half as part of the John McLendon Minority Scholarship program. Ewing, who was not present, is an associate head coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA, and Williams is part of the Maryland radio broadcast team. ...The Hoyas play Friday at Wisconsin, which fell out of the national rankings Monday. Maryland returns to action Friday, at home against Rider.