Postgame Notes: Maryland 89, Florida State 62

Jan. 11, 2003

The Maryland basketball team (No. 21 AP, No. 17 USA Today/ESPN) recorded an 89-62 victory, defeating Florida State for the fourth straight meeting (21-6 overall). The Terps move to 9-3 on the season and 2-0 in the ACC, while the Seminoles fall to 9-4, (0-2 ACC). Every Terrapin in uniform logged playing minutes for the third straight game.

With the win, the Terrapins ran their school-record ACC win streak to 14 games. The Terps have achieved victory in every regular-season conference game since a 99-78 loss at Duke on Jan. 17, 2002.

The Terrapins exploded out of the gates for the third game in a row, taking an 18-0 lead when Steve Blake hit a 3-pointer with 15:24 to mplay in the first half. The Terrapins have pitched shutouts at the start of the last three games, combining for a total of 39 points before their opponents cracked the scoreboard. The Terps led Wagner 9-0 (Jan. 4) and Hampton 12-0 (Jan. 8). In each game, the Terps reached the 20-point mark by the seventh minute.

Maryland's game-opening 18-0 lead marked the Terps' largest since a 22-0 advantage to open the game vs. Chicago State on Dec. 27, 2000. Maryland went on to win that contest, 117-55.

Since Maryland fell to Florida State 74-71 on Feb. 14, 2001 at Cole Field House, the Terps have beaten the Seminoles by a combined total of 107 points in four games. Maryland has won by 21 (84-63), 33 (96-63, the largest margin in the series), 26 (85-59) andd today by 27 (89-62).

Maryland led by 20 at halftime, 46-26, marking the largest halftime lead for the Terps over an ACC team since leading North Carolina by 20 (57-37) on Jan. 9, 2002.

The Terrapins finished the game shooting 31 of 58 from the field for a .534 percentage - and that against a Florida State squad that entered the game ranked second in the nation and first in the conference with a .352 field goal percentage defense. Meanwhile, the Terrapins held the Seminoles to .338 shooting (22 of 65), marking the seventh time this season Maryland has held an opponent to under 34%. The Terps are currently ranked second in the ACC and fifth in the NCAA in terms of their field goal percentage defense, entering the game with a .354 average.

The Terrapins rejected seven Seminole shots in the contest, nearly matching their season average of 8.0 blocks per game. The Terps currently lead the ACC and are third in the nation in terms of blocks.

The Terrapins totaled 22 assists for the game, averaging 24 in their last three contests. Maryland currently paces the ACC in assists and ranks 15th in the nation, entering today's matchup averaging 19.5 per game.

Maryland coach Gary Williams logged the 490th win of his career, and is now just 10 wins from 500. He is the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories, and is 116-90 against ACC opponents since taking the Terps' reins prior to the 1989-90 season - good enough for sixth all-time.

Senior guard Drew Nicholas finished the game with 23 points on 7-for-14 (.500) shooting. The Terps' scoring leader, who also added career-high nine rebounds and four assists, has finished with double-figure points every contest of the 2002-03 season (12 games). Nicholas has led the Terps on the scoresheet in seven of 12 games this season, including both ACC contests.

Nicholas is the first Terp to lead Maryland in points, rebounds and assists in a game since Keith Booth vs. Wake in 1997.

Senior Tahj Holden came off the bench to score 12 points on 4 of 6 (.667) shooting, with four rebounds and three blocked shots. In his four games in a reserve role this season, Holden averages 9.5 points and 3.3 rebounds.

With four assists in the game, senior All-America candidate Steve Blake totals 840 for his career. Blake is currently in 18th place on the all-time NCAA assists chart, and needs 160 to reach 1,000 in his career. He also scored 10 points and needs 187 points to become Maryland's 40th 1,000-point scorer.

Florida native Calvin McCall continued his recent success against the Seminoles, with 10 points on 4-of-7 (.571) shooting, with six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. McCall sparked a 13-0 Maryland run from the 14:51 to 12:20 mark in the second half, scoring seven points, hauling in two rebounds, dishing two assists and making one steal.

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