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Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Postgame Notes: Maryland 72, Clemson 84

March 10, 2005

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  • The Maryland Terrapins fell to the Clemson Tigers, 84-72, in the first round of the 52nd Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at MCI Center in Washington, DC Thursday. The Terps dropped to 16-12 overall while Clemson improved to 16-14. The Terps still lead the all-time series 84-45, including 9-2 in the Tournament. Maryland, the defending conference tournament champions, dropped to 40-48 in ACC Tournament play. The Terps were playing as an eighth-seed for the fifth time in history, falling to 3-5 in that position. It marked the third time that Clemson has beaten the Terps this season. The Tigers will face the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels tomorrow afternoon.

  • Sophomores Mike Jones and Will Bowers started for Maryland, which used a three-guard lineup to begin the game. It marked the second time that the classmates have ever started together, the first being a 75-66 victory at then second-ranked Duke Jan. 26.

  • Clemson was uncertain with the ball early, committing six turnovers in the opening 5:35. The kinetic Terp defense also forced the Tigers to miss six of their first nine field goal attempts.

  • Sophomore Chris McCray got the Terps going early, scoring six points to help Maryland to a 8-0 lead 2:19 into the game. Connecting on his first three three-point attempts, McCray spearheaded Maryland's early surge, accounting for 12 of the team's first 14 points.

  • Down by as many as 12 in the first half, Clemson went on a 11-0 run to take the lead at 17-16 with 10:56 left on a pull-up jumper by point guard Vernon Hamilton.

  • Bowers was active on both ends of the floor for Maryland in the first half. On offense, he scored eight points and grabbed four offensive rebounds in 17 minutes. Assigned to Clemson power forward Sharrod Ford on defense, Bowers held the All-ACC performer scoreless in the first half. In the teams' two previous meetings this season, Ford was a major factor inside, averaging 24.5 on 68 percent shooting.

  • At the break, Clemson led 39-36. Eight players scored for the Tigers, who were paced by Shawan Robinson's 14. McCray, who was 4-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, led Maryland with 15 points at halftime.

  • Senior co-captain Mike Grinnon played nine minutes for the Terps, recording career-high five rebounds. In last year's ACC Tournament, Grinnon played a critical role in the team's storybook run to the championship. In the final against Duke, Grinnon made two crucial free-throws with :50 seconds left to put Maryland up, 87-82, as the Terps went on to win in overtime.

  • Freshman forward James Gist did not play for Maryland after suffering a knee injury in practice. He had previously played in every game for the Terps, including their last game at Virginia Tech when he paced the team with a career-high 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting. He is averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds this season.

  • Junior Sterling Ledbetter played the point for Maryland the majority of the second half, replacing starter John Gilchrist who was hobbled by an ankle injury. Ledbetter finished with eight points and a pair of steals in 23 minutes. Gilchrist, who was recently named Honorable Mention All-ACC, was last year's Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 24.0 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds over three days.

  • In the first half, McCray missed his first attempt from the free-throw line, snapping a string of 29 consecutive makes from the charity stripe. The last time he missed a foul shot was at Miami Feb. 5. He finished the regular season as the ACC's leading free-throw shooter at 94.3 percent, ahead of Duke's J.J. Redick in second.

  • With 24 points, McCray led Maryland in scoring for the third consecutive game. Over his last nine games, McCray is scoring 18.7 per contest. He finished just one point shy of his career-high, which he set against North Carolina Feb. 27. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard also grabbed eight boards for the Terps.

  • Nik Caner-Medley recorded his third double-double this season, and fifth of his career, with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

  • Bowers was a major force in the paint for Maryland all day. In a career-high 27 minutes he scored a career-best 10 points and pulled down six rebounds - one shy of his personal best - while limiting Ford to six points on 1-of-7 shooting.

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