Dec. 30, 2000

Box Score| Quotes| Notes

By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland got just what it wanted out of a four-game stretch against vastly inferior opponents: momentum and confidence heading into Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Byron Mouton scored a season-high 28 points Saturday to lead a balanced attack and the 18th-ranked Terrapins coasted to their eighth straight victory, 105-53 over Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Juan Dixon had 19 points and Terence Morris added 15 for the Terrapins (9-3), who placed five players in double figures in extending their non-conference home winning streak to a nation's best 76 games.

The victory ended a four-game homestand for Maryland, which opens ACC play Tuesday night at Clemson. The Terrapins' victory margin in those games was 46 points, and they reached the 100-point mark in the last three.

"I like the way we're playing offensively right now," coach Gary Williams said. "Obviously next week will show where we are with our team. ... We're trying to gain momentum and gain confidence, and I think we have it going into league play. Now we'll see what happens."

Mouton, a 6-foot-6 junior transfer from Tulane, was 9-for-11 from the field and made all eight free throw attempts.

Maryland received either points or assists from 11 players in building a 60-25 halftime lead. The Terrapins are 14-0 against UMES, winning the last 10 by at least 30 points.

"I think these non-league games have got us clicking together. It should help us going into the ACC, coming off a few games in which we played really well," said forward Danny Miller, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Mouton in the fifth game of the season.

Kevin Darby scored 18 points for the Hawks (1-6), who went 3-for-12 at the line and 4-for-17 from 3-point range. UMES had 17 turnovers, 16 fouls and only 11 field goals in the decisive first half.

"We knew they would put a lot of pressure and take our passes away. We can't handle a team like that right now," Hawks coach Thomas Trotter said.

UMES lost to Georgetown by 24 before being dominated by Maryland.

"I knew we would get pounded by teams like Maryland and Georgetown," Trotter said.

Maryland, which scored the first 22 points Wednesday night in a blowout of Chicago State, raced to an 8-0 lead against the Hawks. UMES committed turnovers on each of its first five possessions while going scoreless over the opening four minutes.

It was 12-7 before Morris made two technical foul shots and two more free throws to ignite a 15-2 run that included four points from reserve Miller and a 3-pointer by Dixon.

Williams cleared his bench in the first half with little dropoff in production. Dixon hit twice from beyond the arc, Lonny Baxter got five points and Mouton scored twice inside during a 19-4 run that made it 49-17.

It was 64-27 early in the second half before the Hawks reeled off 10 straight points, but UMES could get no closer. It was 83-51 with six minutes left before Maryland scored 19 straight points.

"Everything's coming together for us," said Baxter, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. "Now we just have to carry that into the ACC."