Jan. 15, 2005

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By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Terrapin junior forward Nik Caner-Medley and sophomore guard Mike Jones combined to score 56 points, putting on a dazzling performance that restored a sense of confidence to Maryland's basketball team.

Caner-Medley scored a career-high 35 points, and the Terrapins ended a two-game losing streak by pulling away to an 80-69 victory over Temple on Saturday.

It was the 19th consecutive non-league home win for the Terrapins, who were coming off successive lopsided defeats on the road against Atlantic Coast Conference foes North Carolina and Wake Forest.

Caner-Medley went 14-for-21 from the field, 6-for-7 from the free throw line and had a game-high nine rebounds. His 35-point performance was most by a Maryland player since Joe Smith scored 40 in 1995.

"I was angry. Not mad in the sense of being mad, but being intense," he said. "I wanted to win so bad; we needed this win."

Caner-Medley scored the Terrapins' first 12 points of the second half. During one trip to the basket, he stared down a Temple player who dared to reject his shot.

"He had the look today like he was a little mad," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "Our players are really nice. They have to get a little mean when they cross the lines."

Maryland (10-4) played without guard Chris McCray, who bruised his tailbone against Wake Forest. He was replaced in the starting lineup by D.J. Strawberry, who eventually gave way to the torrid-shooting Jones, who scored a season-high 21.

Dustin Salisbery scored 16 points and Mardy Collins had a career-best 11 assists for Temple (6-7), which fell to 0-3 against ACC teams this season. The loss infuriated Owls coach John Chaney, who singled out forward Antywane Robinson and Collins for their "lack of leadership."

Chaney was irritated over Collins' eight turnovers, and said he would bench Robinson when Temple resumes play in the Atlantic 10 on Wednesday.

"I won't start him anymore. I'm concerned he just can't bring it," Chaney said of Robinson, who had 11 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes but was burned on the boards by Caner-Medley.

Of Collins, Chaney said, "You can't make errors against great teams coming down the stretch. ...He's got to stop reading his press clippings."

It was 62-all before Will Bowers put Maryland ahead for good with a follow-dunk. John Gilchrist then added two foul shots and Jones made two at the line to make it 68-62 with 4:22 left.

After Temple cut the margin to three points, Caner-Medley made a reverse layup and sank two free throws to give the Terrapins a seven-point cushion with 54 seconds remaining.

The junior forward then capped his 23-point second half with a resounding dunk with 11 seconds to go.

"If you look back to his freshman year when he was real raw, that's how he played every game," Gilchrist said. "He plays his best ball when he plays like that."

For the first eight minutes of the second half, Caner-Medley was Maryland's lone source of offense. After his reverse layup put the Terrapins up 44-43, Temple ran off seven straight points before Caner-Medley ended the run with a layup.

Jones then took over, making three 3-pointers to help Maryland take a 57-54 lead with 9:14 left. A jumper by Caner-Medley upped the margin to five, but a dunk and a 3-pointer by Salisbery tied it.

Despite going 2-for-12 from beyond the arc, Temple led 36-34 at halftime.

The Owls hit seven of their first eight shots from the field to take a 17-8 lead, then made only six more baskets over the final 14 minutes of the first half. It was 23-17 before Jones spearheaded a 9-0 Maryland run with a free throw, a 3-pointer and a 17-footer.