March 10, 2011
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -
Jordan Williams had 16 points and 13 rebounds to help Maryland beat North Carolina State 75-67 on Thursday night in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Dino Gregory added 11 points for the seventh-seeded Terrapins (19-13), who snapped a three-game losing streak and led the entire night. Maryland led by 17 points in the first half and never let the 10th-seeded Wolfpack (15-16) get closer than six in the second half, earning a matchup with fifth-ranked Duke in Friday's quarterfinals.
Tracy Smith had 14 points to lead N.C. State, which shot 34 percent, including 2-for-17 from 3-point range, and couldn't pull off the same kind of magic they had in a pair of deep ACC tournament runs under NC State head coach Sidney Lowe.
The Terrapins shot 45 percent while playing from ahead all night against the Wolfpack, snapping a three-game losing streak in the process. Only Williams and Gregory scored in double figures, but all nine Terrapins that played scored at least five points.
Maryland didn't have a lot of drama with this one; they led 12-2 out of the gate and took a 31-14 lead on James Padgett's tip-in of his own missed shot with 8:51 left in the first half.
That prompted a timeout call from Lowe, who chastised his team after watching the ball just fall right to Padgett instead of going up and snatching the rebound.
The Wolfpack responded from an effort standpoint, closing the gap to six points late in the half and trailing 42-33 at the break. But Maryland responded to each run, pushing its lead to 16 with about 6 minutes left before N.C. State made its final push, twice getting as close as six points in the final minute.
Freshmen guards Pe'Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin each went 2-for-2 at the line in the last 45 seconds to seal it.
The Associated Press contributed to this game recap
