Maryland vs. North Carolina Postgame Audio
· Maryland's Gary Williams
· UNC's Bill Guthridge
· UNC's Max Owens
· Maryland's Laron Profit
· UNC's Brian Bersticker
· UNC's Ed Cota
· UNC's Brendan Haywood
Box Score
By JOE MACENKA
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The players keep changing for both Maryland and North
Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. The results stay the
same.
In depth coverage of the ACC tourney! |
Max Owens powered several key runs and the 15th-ranked Tar Heels earned a
shot at a third straight ACC championship with an 86-79 victory over No. 5
Maryland on Saturday.
Third-seeded North Carolina (24-8) shot 53 percent, including a 9-of-16
performance from 3-point range, and held off a late rally by second-seeded
Maryland. The Terrapins (26-5) cut a 23-point deficit to four before losing in
the conference semifinals for the eighth consecutive time.
Maryland used an 18-6 run in the last eight minutes to help trim North
Carolina's lead to 78-74 with 47 seconds remaining. But Owens helped the Tar
Heels seal it by making all six of his free throws the rest of the way.
Owens, a sophomore guard, finished with a career-high 23 points. Ademola
Okulaja added 19, Jason Capel 13 and Brendan Haywood 10 as North Carolina
advanced to the title game for the 11th time in 13 years. The Tar Heels will
need to beat top-ranked Duke on Sunday to win their ACC-leading 16th
championship.
Maryland, which swept the Tar Heels by a combined 30 points in the regular
season, lost to North Carolina in the tournament for the seventh consecutive
time. The Terrapins haven't made it to the title game since 1984, when Len Bias
helped them win their second ACC crown.
Steve Francis scored 31 to lead Maryland, which made just one field goal in
the first eight minutes of the second half, damaging the Terrapins' hopes of
extending their seven-game winning streak.
The Terrapins also got 12 points apiece from Laron Profit and Terence Morris
and 11 from Danny Miller.
The Tar Heels combined 6-for-9 shooting from 3-point range with an 18-11
rebounding edge to build a 40-34 halftime lead. They took control with a 16-4
run, capped by a short jumper from Owens, that made it 36-29.
The trend continued in the second half, which North Carolina opened by
making two of its first three long-range attempts, boosting its lead to 48-34
on a 3-pointer by Okulaja.
Maryland missed 11 of its first 12 shots in the half and turned it over five
times, clearing the way for the Tar Heels to open the half with a 24-7 run.
Owens scored the final seven points in the surge to give the Tar Heels a 64-41
lead with 12:06 remaining.
