THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 16, 1997 TAG: 9701160477
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLLEGE PARK, MD. LENGTH: 71 lines
It looked as if Maryland had fouled the right guy.
``Oh yeah,'' coach Gary Williams said. ``He's shooting 50-some percent.''
Fifty-two percent to be exact.
But no matter. With 25.8 seconds left and his team up by three, Clemson center Tom Wideman knocked down a pair of free throws that effectively put the game out of reach for Maryland and help preserve a 67-63 win for Clemson in front of 14,500 at Cole Field House.
The win keeps No. 3 Clemson unbeaten in the ACC at 4-0. The Tigers are 15-1 overall. No. 11 Maryland falls to 14-2, 4-1.
It was the most anticipated game in the ACC so far. It lived up to the billing.
``We were intense, Clemson was intense, Cole was intense,'' Williams said.
Cole was at its crazed best, but Clemson was equal to it and to the Terps. Despite the roar of the sellout crowd, the Tigers had an answer for every Maryland run.
``It's hard to believe that this is only the second week in January, with the excitement and intensity of this game,'' Clemson coach Rick Barnes said. ``I was really pleased with our poise.''
Particularly with the poise shown by Wideman and guard Terrell McIntyre down the stretch. With 2:53 left and Maryland on the move, McIntyre hit a 3-pointer that put Clemson up 61-53.
About 2 1/2 minutes later, Clemson's lead had been trimmed to three, and Maryland put the poor-shooting Wideman on the line.
``We came out of the timeout and they were looking to see who was in the game,'' Wideman said. ``I heard them yelling, `Foul Wideman.' I wasn't suprised. It's usually me or Big O (Harold Jamison).''
Wideman never hesitated.
``I know I have a bad percentage, but some days I feel real good about my shot,'' he said. ``Tonight was one of those.''
Wideman's shots were typical of the way things went for Clemson, which is enjoying the highest ranking in school history. The Tigers had a season-high 23 turnovers. But they forced Maryland into 20 and wore the Terps down with superior numbers.
``Clemson's deep, really deep,'' Williams said. ``We're on our way to that kind of depth.''
The Tigers got a huge lift off the bench from freshman Vincent Whitt, who scored 12 points - on 6-of-7 shooting - and grabbed seven rebounds. Greg Buckner led Clemson with 16, while McIntrye had 13.
Clemson took control early and led 27-17 with six minutes left in the first half. But with McIntyre on the bench with two fouls, Maryland came back. A dunk by Laron Profit in the closing second of the half cut Clemson's lead to 32-31.
Maryland took a 40-37 lead early in the second half, but Clemson regained the lead, 43-41, with 12:44 left. The Tigers never trailed again.
McIntyre, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, scored eight points in the final five minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Maryland was hurt by foul trouble late. Leading scorer Keith Booth (16 points) picked up his fourth foul with 12:36 left and sat out six minutes. Center Obinna Ekezie picked up his fourth with 11:02 left and sat nearly seven minutes.
Maryland also hurt itself at the line, making just 9 of 18 free throws.
``The one thing that bothered me is we played from behind, early,'' Williams said. ``Clemson hit some key shots.
``But I think our team has a lot of guts. We'll get better.''
So could Clemson, which is 4-0 in the ACC for the first time since 1986-87. The Tigers host North Carolina State Saturday, then play a showdown game at home against No. 2 Wake Forest next Thursday. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sophomore Terrell McIntyre scored 13 points to help Clemson KO No.
11 Maryland in an early ACC showdown.