March 10, 2001

Box Score| Quotes

By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA - It's only fitting that seniors Shane Battier and Nate James have No. 3 Duke on the brink of yet another Atlantic Coast Conference championship.

James tipped in a missed runner from Jason Williams with 1.3 seconds left, and Battier scored 20 points as the Blue Devils edged No. 11 Maryland 84-82 Saturday in the tournament semifinals.

Duke (28-4) will meet arch-rival North Carolina in Sunday's championship game.

Williams added 19 points, and James 14 as the Blue Devils snapped Maryland's six-game winning streak.

Battier has been a part of an ACC-record 124 wins in his four years at Duke.

None of James' points were bigger than his last bucket. He went up in a crowd and tipped in the winning shot after Steve Blake's 3-pointer had rallied the Terrapins from a 14-point deficit to an 82-82 tie with 8.1 seconds left.

A half-court shot by Juan Dixon at the final buzzer nearly went in, but it bounced off the rim.

Maryland has not won an ACC crown since 1984.

The No. 6 Tar Heels will try to stop second-seeded Duke from becoming just the third team in 48 years to win three straight ACC tournament titles. They beat Georgia Tech 70-63 in the first semifinal.

The two North Carolina schools separated by eight miles tied for the ACC regular-season title, split the season series and will meet in the ACC title game for the 10th time.

Third-seeded Maryland (21-10) was making its seventh straight appearance in the ACC semifinals - the second-best run in league history - and rallied down the stretch behind some clutch outside shooting. But it couldn't stop the defending champs when it had to.

After Blake's basket, Duke didn't call its final timeout, instead choosing to race down the floor with the ball in Williams' hands. His running shot bounced off the rim, but the strategy worked in the end as James made the game-winning follow shot.

Dixon led the Terrapins with 17 points, while Lonny Baxter had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Battier and Williams each hit two 3-pointers during Duke's 19-2 run to start the second half, turning a three-point deficit into a 14-point lead with 15:20 left. Maryland coach Gary Williams was forced to use a pair of timeouts to try to stop the surge.

Mike Dunleavy also hit a shot from beyond the arc during the spurt after Duke had gone 3-for-13 in the opening 20 minutes from 3-point range.

The deficit was methodically erased by Maryland, but in the end the Terrapins fell to 8-17 all-time in ACC tournament semifinals.

Duke's home white uniforms arrived in time for the game after being left behind for Friday's quarterfinal win over N.C. State. But the Blue Devils looked anything but comfortable, starting 0-for-11 from the field to fall into an early 10-point hole.

Maryland took advantage in the opening minutes and shot 62 percent in the first half, but 12 turnovers cost the Terrapins their cushion.

After Maryland took a 10-0 lead, the score was tied nine times in the final 12:10 of the first half.