Feb. 24, 2004

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Maryland's players admitted afterward they considered Tuesday's home game against Clemson a must-win situation.

Teetering perilously on the NCAA Tournament bubble with time running out on the regular season, the Terrapins had to get things turned around in a hurry.

John Gilchrist led the way with 19 points, six assists and five steals as Maryland beat Clemson 70-49. The Terrapins snapped a three-game losing streak with their largest margin of victory this season over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.

"There's a sense of urgency now. We needed a win and we needed it bad," Gilchrist said. "Sometimes, you just have to go out and make it happen. You can't play to lose."

Freshman D.J. Strawberry made his first career start and scored 15 points for Maryland (14-10, 5-8 ACC), one of six schools that have made each of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments.

"We all know what the streak is and what we have to do to keep it going. Nobody wants to miss out on the tournament," Strawberry said. "We had our backs against the wall and we had to respond."

Coach Gary Williams shook up the starting lineup, replacing struggling sophomore Chris McCray with Strawberry at shooting guard.

Strawberry provided a spark with four points and two steals in the opening eight minutes, while McCray came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

"We know where we stand, we know there is a lot of pressure, but we also know we have a good team," McCray said. "At this point, we just gotta win games. There can be no more excuses."

Two of Maryland's four remaining games come against ranked teams - on the road at N.C. State and home versus Wake Forest.

Maryland has been mired in a shooting slump, hitting less than 40 percent of field goals in four of its last five games. Williams credited improved shot selection for the Terps' ability to shoot 51.9 percent (28-for-54) on Tuesday.

"Tonight, we took really good shots. We didn't fire up a bunch of 3-pointers," Williams said. "I've been trying to convince the players that we could score more if we passed the ball better and took less shots."

Sharrod Ford scored 14 points for Clemson (10-15, 3-11), which shot 31 percent from the field and committed 22 turnovers. Olu Babalola added nine points for the Tigers, who are 9-49 all-time in College Park.

"Maryland came out with a lot of energy. We didn't handle their pressure very well and got a little unnerved," said Clemson coach Oliver Purnell, whose team scored just seven points in the opening 13 minutes.

Clemson fell behind by 17 points in the first half, but steadily worked its way back into striking distance. A 3-pointer by Shawan Robinson cut the deficit to 32-24 with 18:26 remaining in the second half, and the Tigers stayed within single digits until 6:22 remained in the game.

Maryland responded with a 12-0 run, highlighted by Strawberry's breakaway dunk, to put the game out of reach.

"Down eight with 18 minutes left, I thought we were in great position to make a game of it," Purnell said. "We kept pleading with the team to take the ball inside, but instead we continued to cast up jump shots. We didn't play as smart as we needed to."

Gilchrist scored seven points during a 12-0 run that put Maryland ahead 24-7 with 8:38 remaining in the first half. The Terrapins maintained that 17-point bulge until the 3:04 mark and took a 32-21 lead into halftime.

Clemson shot 25.9 percent (7-for-27) from the field and committed 14 turnovers in the first half.