Nov. 3, 1999

Box Score

By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Freshman Drew Nicholas hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points in his college debut Wednesday night as Maryland cruised to a 98-79 exhibition victory over the Down Under Bandits, a touring collection of Australian all-stars.

Juan Dixon scored 18 points and Terence Morris, the preseason Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins, who never trailed in their preseason opener.

Damien Robertson scored 22 points for the Bandits, who have nine games left on their 10-game swing around the United States.

Maryland led 54-38 at halftime, but the Bandits used a 9-2 run at the outset of the second half to close to 56-47. Terrapins coach Gary Williams called a timeout, and Maryland responded with a 7-2 spurt to make it 63-49 with 15 minutes to go.

With Nicholas firing away effectively from the outside, the margin swelled to 19 points with six minutes remaining.

Morris hit a layup and Dixon made a 3-pointer and two foul shots to stake Maryland to a 7-0 lead. It was 13-11 before Lonny Baxter hit a follow shot and two free throws to start a 10-3 run that made it 23-14.

The Bandits kept it close by going 6-for-9 beyond the arc in the opening 12 minutes. But they could not sustain their success from long range, missing three straight as the Terrapins used a 19-7 run to stretch a 29-22 lead to 48-29 with four minutes left in the half.

Maryland, traditionally a poor shooting team from the line, made its first 14 free throws and was 17-for-20 in the first half.