Dec 2, 2001

Box Score| Quotes| Notes

WASHINGTON (AP) - It took a while for Maryland to stop worrying about Princeton's deliberate offensive style and focus on its own brand of suffocating defense.

When the Terrapins turned up the pressure midway through the second half, the upset-minded Tigers wilted.

Lonny Baxter had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 5 Maryland rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat Princeton 61-53 Sunday in the first round of the BB&T Classic.

"That's what pressure does," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "It doesn't always get you steals, but the mental and physical part of pressure is a wearing-down process."

Juan Dixon added 14 points for the Terrapins (5-1), who won their fifth straight game.

Andre Logan led Princeton (1-4) with 15 points, and Konrad Wysocki added 13.

The Tigers took a 42-30 lead on a backdoor layup by Kyle Wente with 13:35 left in the second half.

But Maryland went on a 14-2 run, with two free throws by Byron Mouton tying the game at 46 with 6:54 left.

A foul shot by Logan and a basket by Wysocki put the Tigers up 49-46 with 5:42 to go. But Baxter hit a short jumper to cut the lead to a point, then Drew Nicholas made a 3-pointer to gave the Terrapins the lead for good with 4:43 remaining.

The 53-51 lead was the Terrapins' first of the game and the decisive run came after Princeton's Mike Bechtel and Wysocki went to the bench in foul trouble.

"In the second half, it seemed like all of their baskets came from within three feet of the basket," said Tigers coach John Thompson. "We got in foul trouble early in the second half and I think they just decided to go inside."

Maryland can win its second consecutive BB&T Classic title, and its fourth in seven years, Monday night against the winner of second game, between Connecticut and George Washington.

To do so, the Terrapins will have to perform much better than they did in the first half against Princeton. Maryland shot only 7-for-24 from the field and committed 11 turnovers as the Tigers sprinted to a 36-23 lead at the break.

"Princeton tried to lull us to sleep," Baxter said. "We fell into that trap in the first half."

Princeton drew the Terrapins out of their zone defense with three quick 3-pointers. Ahmed El-Nokali's 3-pointer gave the Tigers an 11-5 lead with 15:40 left in the half.

Baxter scored Maryland's first seven points, but the Terrapins couldn't get anyone else involved in the offense.

Dixon, 1-for-5 from the field in the first half, hit three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt and a layup by Steve Blake with 9:15 left to get Maryland within 17-14.

But the Terrapins got only two field goals and six points over the next 7:31, and Logan's jumper capped off a 10-1 run that put Princeton up 31-18 with 2:06 remaining in the half.

"In the first half, they executed their game plan and we didn't," Williams said. "Princeton is no secret. We had no patience whatsoever in the first half."