Foul shots bail out Terrapins

Maryland was once ridiculed for poor free throw shooting. Last night, foul shooting re-established the Terrapins as ACC contenders.

Maryland used 10 free throws in the final 2:34 to upset North Carolina 90-84 before 17,950 at Comcast Center. The foul shots helped Maryland break a 78-78 tie with a 7-1 run to end a torrid Tar Heel comeback.

Maryland (10-3, 1-1 ACC) visits No.12 Georgia Tech (12-2, 0-1) on Saturday before returning to Comcast Center against No.2 Duke (12-1) on Wednesday. No. 9 North Carolina (10-3, 1-2) plays host to No.1 Connecticut on Saturday.

Both teams delivered brilliant performances and big plays came regularly on both ends. Defense was often crisp, passing was solid and Maryland even fared well at the foul line by converting 25 of 35.

Center Jamar Smith led Maryland with 22 points and nine rebounds while guard John Gilchrist added 20. Forwards Nik Caner-Medley added 17 points and Ekene Ibekwe scored 11 points and five rebounds before fouling out with 4:03 remaining.

Sean May’s 17 points led five Tar Heels with at least 11 points. North Carolina forward Jawad Williams (broken nose) didn’t start, but entered after just 4:33 to play regularly while donning a face mask.

Both teams tried to dominate early in the second half hoping to steal the game. Maryland scored six straight points to forge a 54-54 tie before guard Chris McCray’s dunk with 15:43 left gave the Terps their first lead since 4-3. Smith followed with two short baskets for eight points in four minutes to cap a 12-0 Terps run.

North Carolina didn’t fold, scoring six straight points to close to 62-61 with 12:18 remaining. Maryland soon followed with seven unanswered points with Caner-Medley’s 3-pointer sandwiched by a 10-footer and two free throws by Gilchrist for a 69-61 lead wth 10:28 remaining.

Maryland squandered a chance to put North Carolina away with two straight turnovers as the Tar Heels closed within 72-68 with 6:26 left before the Terps called timeout. Caner-Medley scored on a 15-footer and a dunk while North Carolina countered each with May’s two free throws and Williams’ 3-pointer to close within 76-73 with 4:52 remaining. Tar Heels forward Rashad McCants soon followed with a 3-pointer to tie at 78-78.

Maryland then used a 7-1 run on free throws for a 85-79 lead with 56.6 seconds left. The Terps survived one last comeback by North Carolina to seal the upset.

The ACC home opener for the Terps drew a raucous sellout crowd despite the students still being on winter break. The “Red Army” filled the 4,000 courtside seats two hours before tipoff to taunt North Carolina players during warmups and cheer ESPN announcer Dick Vitale promoting his new book.

A sterling tea set sat by Vitale to counter his sore throat and the announcer was on his second pot by halftime after screaming over repeated big plays.

The Terps didn’t have an early answer for May. North Carolina’s crisp passing created consistent inside scoring to give it a 25-18 lead with 13:09 remaining in the first half.

Maryland tried to rest its big men, but North Carolina extended its lead to 29-20. Ibekwe capped a 6-2 run to close to 33-30 before being whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a dunk. The crowd was incited while North Carolina guard Raymond Felton converted two free throws for a 35-30 edge. Felton followed with a dunk and layup to extend the lead to nine.

Terps guard Mike Jones then entered to provide two big plays to keep the game close. Jones converted a rebound, then drew a foul from May on a defensive board and converted two free throws. Smith soon followed with a layup off three crisp passes on a fastbreak to electrify the crowd.

Maryland no longer feared North Carolina underneath and worked inside regularly. The Tar Heels countered with a half-court press that the Terps quickly beat to close to 45-44 with 2:50 left in the first half after Ibekwe scored on his fourth straight shot. Both teams stayed inside with Maryland scoring the final three points to close within 49-47 at halftime.