Jan. 31, 2001

Box Score

By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The fold came earlier for No. 9 Maryland as No. 11 Virginia spared the Terrapins any late-game disappointment.

Keith Friel hit three 3-pointers during a 25-4 second-half run Wednesday night and the suddenly confident Cavaliers handed Maryland its second tough conference loss in a row, 99-78.

"He gave us tremendous juice," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said of Friel, the 3-point specialist who hit five times from behind the arc.

"When he scores, it takes pressure off everybody else."

The Cavaliers (15-4, 4-4), who also had a 24-2 run in the first half, saw Maryland draw to within 52-51 with 13:42 to play before blitzing the Terps behind Friel's deep shooting and some high flying acrobatics.

Maryland (14-6, 5-3 ACC), which blew a 10-point deficit in the last 54 seconds of regulation at home against second-ranked Duke on Saturday and lost 98-96 in overtime, had nothing left after erasing the first deficit.

"When we got it to one, we didn't do a good job of running our offense," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "That was our last chance."

Adam Hall started the run with a driving score, and Friel followed by sinking a 3-pointer from just right of the key. After Travis Watson's wraparound layup gave the Cavaliers a 59-53 edge, Friel hit again.

"There was a sense of urgency," Friel said of the Terps' run. "We needed to put our foot down and get some defensive stops and score the ball because they answered our run and were making one of their own."

Hall then got into the act in a big way, stealing the ball at midcourt and driving in for a ferocious dunk, then following a Cavaliers' miss by soaring, catching and almost dropping the ball into the hoop.

That made it 66-54, and when Friel hit again, this time from the right wing with 9:10 left, the lead was 69-54 and it was all but finished.

"He's been around long enough for us to know to find him when he comes in," Williams said of Friel, a noted sharpshooter. "We didn't."

Virginia, which started slowly in the ACC, added to a resurgence that began with a 104-76 blowout victory at Clemson, S.C., on Saturday.

"I think we took a big step forward tonight," Gillen said.

Donald Hand led Virginia with 20 points, Roger Mason and Chris Williams had 19 each and Friel had 17, hitting 5 of 8 from downtown.

Lonny Baxter led Maryland with 15 points and Terence Morris had 14.

Virginia led 47-35 at halftime, the first time Maryland has trailed at the half this season. The Cavaliers did it by outscoring the Terrapins 24-2 over a 5:15 stretch to erase a 24-20 deficit. Williams scored the first 5 points in the run and Friel had the next 8, including two 3-pointers.

The Terrapins finished the half on a 9-3 surge as five different players scored while Virginia committed three of its five turnovers.