LB was a quiet warrior who was a great low post scorer and
ran the floor well from a man of his size. Little did anybody know when
Lonny came to Maryland how much he would accomplish in his college career.
He had gone to three high school schools including Hargrave Military Academy
where he was overshadowed by Korleone Young and was a bit overweight.
However, it only took LB 12 games to break the Terps record for most field
goals in a game without a miss (10) in a 28 point effort against North Texas
State. Baxter started the last 12 games of his freshman season and showed
strong offensive potential but was frequently in foul trouble.
Lonny really came into his own as a sophomore when he was first team
All-ACC. He was in double figures in scoring in 32 of 35 games and had 12
double doubles. His most memorable performance as a sophomore was his 31
point effort in leading the Terps to a come from behind win against NC State
at Cole which was a turning point game for both teams.
LB had a solid junior season, but really brought his game to another level
in the NCAA regional semi final and finals in Anaheim. Lonny took it
personally when Georgetown's Lee Scruggs said that the Terps front court was
soft. He put the team on his back against Georgetown in getting Gary
Williams to his first elite eight with a 26 point 14 rebound effort and two
days later followed it up with 24 points in the upset of Stanford that got
the Terps to the final four for the first time.
Baxter had another strong season as a senior and once again played his best
basketball in the NCAAs. In the regional semi finals, the normally reserved
Baxter demanded that the Terps get ball to him more in the second half and
he went on to score 14 second half points in the Terps win against Kentucky.
Two days later in a memorable battle with Uconn, LB dominated Omeka Okafor
with 29 points in getting the Terps to their second straight final four.
After struggling with foul trouble in the final four game against Kansas,
Baxter and the Terps owned the paint in the national championship game
against Indiana with 15 points and 14 rebounds. The image of Lonny and Juan
celebrating on the floor in the Georgia Dome is treasured by all Terp fans.
