Dec. 11, 2005

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Boston College coach Al Skinner looked at the stat sheet and shook his head.

The No. 6 Eagles had just lost their Atlantic Coast Conference debut, falling to 21st-ranked Maryland 73-71 Sunday night, and Skinner was asked about his team's 5-for-15 performance at the foul line.

"We could have made more," he said, "but you're not going to win many games when the other team makes more free throws than you take - especially a team like ours, which is pretty aggressive going to the basket. I just find that hard to believe."

Ekene Ibekwe scored 21 points and Chris McCray had 16 for the Terrapins (7-2, 1-0), who went 19-for-29 at the line. The Eagles were called for 24 fouls compared to 16 for Maryland.

That, the Terrapins contend, was by design.

"That was the first thing the coach told us when we were going over BC: They shoot 26 free throws a game and their opponents average 11 free throws," McCray said. "That's basically how they've been winning games. We just wanted to contain them and stay between them and the basket."

The game was physical from the opening tip, which ended up working in Maryland's favor.

"The big thing was they were averaging 26 free throws a game and we held them to 15. That helped us a lot," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "I thought the contact was there at both ends of the court. You try to adjust to how the game is being called."

Craig Smith had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Sean Marshall scored 15 points for the Eagles, who lost to a Top 25 team for the second time in six days. The defeat came on the heels of a loss to No. 14 Michigan State on Tuesday night.

Smith attributed the Eagles' woes at the foul line on the loud, sellout crowd.

"It was tough, especially being on the road. That's why teams have home court advantage," he said. "I felt like our guys really didn't get in their rhythm. It was just mental."

The Eagles trailed 73-68 before Tyrese Rice hit a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left. After Maryland threw the inbounds pass away, Boston College did the same thing. As the final buzzer sounded, several hundred fans stormed the court to celebrate.

"It was important for us to get a quality win," Williams said. "Hopefully, this is a building block."

A 5-0 spurt put Maryland up 65-62 with 3:56 left. After Rice made a layup, Ibekwe missed two free throws with 2:21 to go.

D.J. Strawberry stole the ball on the other end, and McCray made a three-point play for a 68-64 lead. Then, after Smith made one of two foul shots, a Maryland basket was wiped out by an offensive goaltending call.

Smith then fouled out when called for a charge, and a reverse layup by Nik Caner-Medley put Maryland up 70-65 with 43 seconds left.

The Terrapins held on - but barely.

"I'm very proud of our team," Williams said. "We did a great job in just about every situation."

Maryland led by three points on four occasions during the first 8 minutes of the second half, but the Eagles kept coming back. Then, after BC's Akida McLain missed an easy layup, James Gist made two foul shots to put the Terrapins ahead 49-45 with 11:05 to go.

Marshall followed with a 3-pointer, Smith made a baseline jumper and Marshall sank one of two foul shots to give BC a 51-49 lead.

There were three ties and five lead changes the rest of the way.

Boston College went 16-for-28 from the floor in the first half, but Ibekwe had 15 points and five rebounds to stake Maryland to a 35-33 lead.

Ibekwe scored 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting to put the Terrapins up 13-8 with 6 minutes elapsed. All his baskets were layups, the result of Maryland's effort to assert itself inside from the outset.

Boston College then packed the lane, and McCray hit a 3-pointer before Ibekwe drove for a layup to make it 24-18. The Eagles answered with a 6-0 run, but a baseline jumper by McCray and two straight baskets by Caner-Medley restored the six-point margin.

Maryland then missed five straight shots, and BC used a 9-1 run to take its first lead since 2-0.