THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701090529
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. LENGTH: 79 lines
It's the ACC. Everybody makes a run.
Most of the time, anyway. So with Maryland trailing North Carolina by 22 early in the second half Wednesday night, there was a sense that the 19th-ranked Terrapins might have one good run in them.
But no one could have expected what happened next. Down 66-44, Maryland outscored No. 13 North Carolina 41-9 the rest of the way to roll to an 85-75 win in front of 21,752 stunned patrons at the Dean E. Smith Center.
It was the biggest comeback in Maryland history, and the biggest collapse UNC coach Dean Smith could recall.
``I can't remember one quite like this, losing that lead,'' Smith said.
Maryland coach Gary Williams said: ``I've been coaching a long time, at a lot of places. That's probably the best comeback I've been associated with.''
Things like this aren't supposed to happen to the Tar Heels, especially at home. Stunning North Carolina on its own floor made the win that much sweeter for the Terrapins, who improved to 13-1, 3-0 in the ACC.
``At the Dean Dome? On ESPN? Down by 22?,'' forward LaRon Profit said. ``Oh yes.''
Profit's performance mirrored his team's. Scoreless in the first half, he was unstoppable down the stretch. His first basket, a layup
with 6:41 left, put the Terrapins up 69-68, their first lead since they led 2-0 24 seconds into the game. Profit finished with 13 points.
Maryland was led by Obinna Ekezie, with 21 points, and Keith Booth, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Antawn Jamison and Serge Zwikker combined for 42 points for the Tar Heels, who dropped to 9-3 overall and are 0-2 in the ACC for the first time in 17 seasons.
But North Carolina got little from its backcourt, especially in the second half. Shammond Williams, who scored 15 in the first half, was 0 for 7 in the second, and did not score. Point guard Ed Cota, who had 10 assists in the first half, had just one in the second.
It looked like a simple case of running out of gas. North Carolina was without starting guard Vince Carter, who has a hip injury. When the Tar Heels went cold, Smith had nowhere to turn for help. With 7:24 left, he had to resort to playing walk-on Brad Frederick. ``It got scary in the second half for the fans, players and maybe for the coaches when they got on that run,'' Smith said.
Maryland began the run with a 14-0 spurt that cut the lead to eight. After a Zwikker layup, the Terrapins ripped off 14 more to make it 72-68 with 4:34 left.
Maryland pushed its lead to 77-70 with 1:36 left, then hit six straight free throws to clinch it.
The Terrapins used pressure defense and capitalized on shaky ball handling by North Carolina.
And poor Tar Heel shooting. After hitting 58 percent in the first half, North Carolina made just 35 percent in the second.
``We knew if they got a big lead we would continue to play hard and get back in the game,'' Booth said. ``Fortunately for us, they started missing.''
And Maryland began clicking. Ekezie, a sophomore from Nigeria, had a career night, going 6 of 8 from the field and 9 of 16 from the free throw line. He also grabbed eight rebounds.
``Obinna has just scratched the surface,'' Williams said.
Ekezie, who has been playing basketball only five years, didn't have the historical perspective offered by Williams and Smith. But he got in the spirit of things anyway. ``I haven't been playing basketball that long,'' he said. ``But this is impressive.
``It's a pride thing with this team. We don't think anybody in college basketball can blow us out by 20.''
Carolina certainly couldn't. Officially, it was the Tar Heels biggest collapse since they blew a 16-point second-half lead and lost in overtime to Virginia in 1981.
``We have to find a way to improve,'' Smith said. ``I think we'll come along but it's not going to be easy with this group.
``We're not going to talk about next year yet. Not on Jan. 8.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
North Carolina's Ademola Okulaja, left, and Maryland's LaRon Profit
battle for ball during the first half of Wednesday's ACC game at the
Dean Smith Center.