Feb. 24, 2004

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* The Maryland basketball team captured a key late-season win over Clemson 70-49 Tuesday night at Comcast Center as they enter the stretch run of the 2003-04 season. The Terps climb to 14-10 overall and 5-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the Tigers remain the ACC's basement dweller with a 3-11 league record and drop to 10-15 for the season.

* The Terps now own a 13-game winning streak against Clemson - including a 65-52 triumph on Jan. 25, 2004 at Littlejohn Coliseum -- improving their edge in the series margin to 84-42. The Tigers continue to have trouble in College Park, as Maryland has won 10 of the last 11 meetings on their home floor, including seven in a row. All-time, Maryland is 49-9 against the Tigers in College Park. Gary Williams continues to have success against Clemson at home, having won 12 of the 15 meetings his ACC foe since starting at his alma mater in the 1989-90 season.

* A home-friendly schedule in which the Terps play three of their last four games in College Park started off on the right foot as Maryland now owns an impressive 11-3 record in the friendly confines of Comcast Center. They will play No. 15 Wake Forest on Saturday and regional rival Virginia on March 7.

* Four Terrapins reached double figures, led by John Gilchrist's 19-point performance. He finished 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 in the second half, while leading the team with six assists and five steals. DJ Strawberry (15 points), Chris McCray (14 points, 6-of-8 shooting) and Jamar Smith (10 points) joined him in double digits. From the field, Maryland made 28-of-54 shots - 14-of-23 in the second half - to finish at a 51.9 percent clip, the fifth time this season and second against an ACC foe that Maryland has shot above 50 percent.

* An inspired performance on defense paid off, as Maryland forced 22 turnovers, the fourth consecutive game in which the Terps have forced at least 19 turnovers (22 vs. North Carolina on Feb. 15, 20 vs. Georgia Tech on Feb. 19 and 19 vs. Duke on Feb. 22). Over that stretch, Maryland opponents have averaged 20.75 turnovers per game. They also registered 11 blocks, tying a season-high

* In holding Clemson to 49 total points, it was the lowest point total by an ACC opponent against Maryland this year (previously 52 at Clemson on Jan. 24). It was also the second time in four meetings with Clemson that the Tigers were held under 50 points against Maryland (a 52-47 loss in Clemson on Jan. 25, 2003).

* Freshman D.J. Strawberry earned his first career start and made the most of it, by connecting on 3-of-4 first half shots, adding two rebounds, two blocks, two steals in 12 minutes of action in the opening 20 minutes of play. He finished the game by draining 7-of-9 attempts from the field with 15 points (two shy of his career-high), and also contributed five rebounds, three steals, two blocks and one assist.

* Freshman Ekene Ibekwe also had a strong game, pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds, tying a career-high set against Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 3. He also rejected a team-high three Tiger shots

* After a sluggish start that saw Clemson make only two of their first 15 field goals in the opening 10 minutes - thanks in part to strong Terrapin defense that included six early blocks (two on one possession by Ibekwe and Caner-Medley) and nine Tiger turnovers - Maryland scored 19 of 21 points (eight by Gilchrist) to take a 24-7 lead with 10:14 remaining in the half. At one point in the run, the Terrapins scored 14 in a row as Clemson struggled to get good looks at the hoop.

* Chris McCray and Gilchrist topped the Terrapin scoring column in the first half with eight points apiece. McCray did so on 4-of-6 shooting.

* Maryland shot 50 percent from the field (11-of-22) in the opening 13:36 of the game, while turning in a strong performance on the other end of the court forcing 14 turnovers, seven blocks and six steals (three from Gilchrist) in the opening half. Maryland held an 11-2 advantage in points off turnovers in the first half.

* In holding Clemson to 21 first half points, it tied the third-lowest point total allowed by the Terrapins in one half this year (8 vs. American in the first half on Nov. 22, 2003 and 19 in both halves against UMES on Jan. 6, 2004). They also held Clemson to 7-of-27 first-half shooting and did not allow a Clemson three-pointer in the half.

* Maryland eclipsed their league-leading blocked shots average (7.0 per game) by halftime with eight rejections. Ekene Ibekwe, Hassan Fofana (who blocked two shots on executive possessions around the 12-minute mark) and Strawberry each denied two Clemson shot attempts. Ibekwe also totaled a team-high five first half rebounds.

* Gilchrist drained his first three attempts from the field in the second half, including a three-point bomb from the wing to give Maryland a 44-31 lead with 12:48 remaining. McCray's long-distance jumper with 9:00 left gave the Terps a 52-36 lead, its largest of the second half. Clemson continued to hang around thanks to a solid performance at the charity stripe, but Maryland ran off 12 straight points -- another Gilchrist three-pointer, a Strawberry fast-break dunk a mid-range jumper by McCray, and a tip-in by Strawberry, all sandwiched around three Ibekwe free throws -- gave Maryland a 65-44 lead, its largest of the game..