Postgame Notes: Maryland 85, TCU 73

March 26, 2005

The Maryland Terrapins advanced to the NIT semifinals for the first time since 1972, coming back from seven down in the second half to defeat the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, 85-73, Saturday afternoon at Comcast Center. The Terps move to 19-12 overall while TCU ends its season with a 21-14 mark. Maryland improved to 14-0 when leading at the half and 15-3 at home this season Today's meeting between the schools was just their second ever. The first took place Nov. 25, 1988 at the Freedom Classic in Irvine, Calif., a 74-67 Terp victory. Maryland will head to New York to take on South Carolina (18-13) Tuesday in the semifinals at fabled Madison Square Garden.

Maryland extended its home winning streak over non-conference foes to 21 games. Their last defeat by a non-ACC opponent at Comcast Center came Dec. 14, 2002, at the hands of the Florida Gators.

Head Coach Gary Williams and the Terps moved a step closer to a ninth straight 20-win season in College Park. Maryland is just one win shy of accomplishing the feat, having won its last three in the NIT.

Sterling Ledbetter started his third consecutive game at point guard, in place of injured junior John Gilchrist. In 34 minutes, Ledbetter ran the offense efficiently and played solid defense, recording six rebounds, six assists, two points and two steals. Over his last three contests, Ledbetter is averaging 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and a team-best 6.3 assists.

Junior forward Nik Caner-Medley continued his ascent in the Maryland basketball record books. With 20 points today, he has now scored 1,070 in his career, pushing him ahead of former Terp standout Kevin McClinton (1990-93) for 36th place on the all-time list. Caner-Medley has now led the Terps in scoring a team-high 13 times this season and has scored 20 or more points 10 times. The Third Team All-ACC selection came up big when his team needed him the most, scoring 16 of his 20 points during Maryland's second-half surge.

Maryland was off and running early, causing four Horned Frog turnovers in the first 4:58 which led to seven transition points. The Terps made six of their first eight attempts from the floor, including 2-for-3 from long distance, helping them to an early 18-12 advantage.

For TCU, Corey Santee had the hot hand on offense, scoring 12 of his team's first 22 points. The guard connected on four of his first five shots, all of which came from three-point territory. Santee paced TCU with 15 points at the half, scoring all his points on threes (5-for-7).

Ekene Ibekwe scored eight points and led the way with six rebounds for Maryland in the first half. The 6-foot-9 forward was 3-of-5 from the field, including his third three-pointer of the season. Ibewke's last trifecta had come against UNC-Asheville Dec. 12.

Seven of the eight Terps who saw the court in the opening half reached the scoring column, led by Mike Jones, who was 3-for-6 from long range on his way to 11 points in 10 minutes. Chris McCray netted 10 for Maryland, which went into the break with a 44-43 lead.

In the first half, Maryland shot 56 percent from the field (15-for-27), while connecting on half of their three-point tries (6-for-12). At the other end of the floor, the Terps held TCU to 39 percent shooting and caused nine turnovers.

TCU opened the second half with an 8-0 run to put them ahead, 51-44. Marcus Shropshire and Nile Murry both canned three-pointers during the spurt.

The Terps would eventually have an answer for the Frogs. Caner-Medley scored five points on a three from the corner and a break away jam, and Jones had a dunk before Travis Garrison's short jumper brought the lead back to Maryland at 60-59 with10:09 to play.

Jones' four three-pointers tied a career-high for the sharpshooter. He accomplished the feat on three other occasions, the most recent being a Dec. 27 matchup vs. North Carolina. Also, 18 points (on 7-of-14 shooting) marked his second-highest scoring output of the season (21 vs. Temple Jan. 15).

Five Terps scored in double figures, the ninth time that has happened this year. Caner-Medley led the way with 20, followed by Jones and McCray, who netted 18 apiece. Garrison scored 15 and Ibekwe had 10, to go along with eight rebounds. It was the 15th time in the last 17 games that McCray has scored in double digits.

With 15 points and 10 rebounds, Garrison notched his third double-double of the year, and second in the last three games. During Maryland's NIT run, Garrison has averaged 15 points and nine rebounds.

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