March 23, 2003
Box Score
By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - No need to beat the buzzer this time. Maryland
jumped ahead of Xavier right from the start.
The defending national champion Terrapins, who got a game-winning 3-pointer
from Drew Nicholas in the most exciting finish of the first round, shut down
David West early and beat the Musketeers 77-64 Sunday to reach the round of 16
for the third straight year.
Nicholas and Ryan Randle scored 17 points apiece for sixth-seeded Maryland,
which will play the winner of Sunday night's Florida-Michigan State game in the
South Regional semifinals Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Steve Blake, the most experienced player in the NCAA tournament, had nine
points and nine assists as the Terrapins (21-9) shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58)
from the floor.
West, the three-time Atlantic 10 player of the year, finished with 22 points
and nine rebounds for No. 3 seed Xavier (26-6), but most of it came way too
late.
Just making the NCAA tournament was the challenge coach Gary Williams gave
his Terrapins this season after losing four starters - including Lonny Baxter,
Juan Dixon and Chris Wilcox - from last year's championship squad.
The Terps came in with their lowest seed since a No. 7 in 1996. Now, they're
in the round of 16 for the 13th time.
And Williams has plenty of experience left. He started four seniors with a
combined record of 12-2 in tournament games Sunday.
The Musketeers scored the first five points, but Maryland answered with a
19-4 run and led by as many as 20 points in the first half. Then the Musketeers
almost made it interesting as West, held to 2-of-8 shooting in the first half,
got going in the second.
He hit the boards hard on the defensive end, started driving to the basket
and got Randle, Jamar Smith and Travis Garrison in foul trouble. West scored
nine straight points to trim the lead to 54-44 with 12:21 left.
The Musketeers kept whittling away as West either shot or passed off to
teammates who could score. Romain Sato hit the first of two free throws at 6:06
to get Xavier to 60-57.
That was as close as they got.
Nicholas, whose fall-away 3 at the buzzer against North Carolina-Wilmington
got the Terps into this game, answered with a 3-pointer from the top of key.
That started Maryland on an 11-4 run, and Smith's layup with 3:20 to go made it
71-61.
Sato finished with 17 points on 4-of-14 shooting, and Lionel Chalmers had
12.
Xavier had been trying for the school's second trip to the regional
semifinals and first since 1990. The Musketeers shot themselves out of the game
early, hitting 28.6 percent from the floor in the first half (8-of-28).
With the early lead, Williams was able to rest his starters and liberally
substitute from the bench, playing 10 of his 13 players. All but two had at
least one basket in the first half.
