Feb. 6, 2001

Box Score

By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA (AP) -

With the shot clock running down, Georgia Tech's point guard had no other option except to shoot. His long 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining carried the Yellow Jackets to a 72-62 victory over No. 13 Maryland on Tuesday night.

"I had been doing that the whole game," said Akins, who equaled his season high with 28 points. "I felt if I shot the ball, it was going to go in."

First-year coach Paul Hewitt, whose team equaled both its overall and Atlantic Coast Conference victory totals for all last season, wasn't quite as confident when the ball left Akins' hands.

"We ran some things, but they defended it very well," Hewitt said. "Tony bailed us out. I'm not going to tell you it was great coaching."

Maryland (15-7, 6-4) lost for the third time in four games, and this one was nearly as gut-wrenching as the overtime defeat to then-No. 1 Duke 10 days earlier.

"There's no way we should lose to this team," said Juan Dixon, who led Maryland with 18 points. "They wanted it more."

The Terrapins were tired and sluggish playing just two days after a victory over Clemson. Maryland committed a staggering 23 turnovers, failing to take advantage of Georgia Tech losing the ball 20 times in a sloppy, erratic game that appeared to belong in November rather than February.

"We had this same team last year and won 25 games," Dixon said. "We're not playing up to our potential. There's no way we should be 6-4 in the ACC."

Things don't get any easier for Maryland, which gets to face another No. 1 team Saturday when it travels to North Carolina. No wonder things got noisy afterward in the locker room, where a profanity-laced tirade could be heard by reporters waiting outside.

"Carolina's going to beat us up if we don't compete," Dixon said.

Georgia Tech (13-8, 5-5) was picked to finish near the bottom of the ACC but is now within reach of its first bid to the NCAA tournament since 1996. The Yellow Jackets have defeated three ranked teams, following up victories over No. 6 Virginia and No. 19 Wake Forest.

"Thirteen wins is not going to get us in the tournament," Hewitt said. "We're getting close. It's right there for us if we keep playing hard."

The Yellow Jackets limited Maryland to just two points over the final 4 1/2 minutes, going ahead for good when Alvin Jones hit a free throw to make it 61-60 with 3:38 remaining.

Akins hit the biggest shot of the night, which was only appropriate since the 5-foot-11 junior repeatedly countered Maryland's quickness by either penetrating the lane or hitting long jumpers from outside the arc.

Actually, Akins gave Maryland its final basket, throwing away a pass for one of his eight turnovers. Drew Nicholas took it the other way for a dunk that pulled the Terps to 64-62.

With the shot clock winding down and Dixon in his face, Akins had little choice but to launch a 3. It swished through with 1:09 to go, sending the crowd into a frenzy while Akins skipped down the court with both hands in the air.

Georgia Tech sealed the victory at the foul line while Maryland failed to score another point.

Akins equaled his season high for points, going 8-of-11 from the field - including all three of his attempts from outside the arc.

The 6-11 Jones helped to shut down Maryland's imposing front line. Terence Morris was help to nine points on 4-of-17 shooting, while Lonny Baxter managed only three points before fouling out with more than eight minutes left.

Jones had 11 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

"We're 5-5 in the ACC with wins over some pretty good teams," Hewitt said. "He's the reason."

Georgia Tech kept drawing fouls, going 21-of-32 at the free-throw line. Maryland was only 5-of-8 from the stripe.

"It's tough to make up that difference," coach Gary Williams said. "We've got to do a better job of running our offense."

Maryland, averaging 88.6 points per game, was held to its lowest total of the season. The Terps were just 10-of-27 from the field in the second half and finished at 40 percent for the game.

The game went back in forth in the first half, with the Yellow Jackets seeming to gain the upper hand with an 8-0 run. But Maryland closed with a 19-5 spurt, taking a 40-34 halftime lead.

Dixon hit a 3-pointer to begin the second half and Maryland grabbed its biggest lead, 45-34, when Baxter followed up a missed shot on his team's next possession.