DATE: Saturday, March 8, 1997               TAG: 9703080608

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: GREENSBORO                        LENGTH:   65 lines

MARYLAND USES 16-0 RUN TO DUMP NO. 13 CLEMSON

Maryland needed several minutes to rediscover its confidence Friday, but upon doing so rolled into the ACC tournament semifinals with an impressive 76-61 victory over 13th-ranked Clemson.

The Terps (21-9) had lost their last three games, and seven of 10, in falling from fifth to 22nd in the AP poll.

``We did struggle at the end of regular season, but we basically were playing seven people and I thought we were tired,'' said coach Gary Williams, who collected his 350th coaching victory.

``I knew once we had a chance to get our legs back that we could get it going again.''

Maryland lost twice in the regular season to the Tigers, and the game started out like it was going to be a repeat.

Clemson (21-9) leaped into an 11-2 lead in the opening nine minutes before Maryland's offense came to life.

The Terps went on a 16-0 run for an 18-11 lead and Clemson never caught up.

``We didn't have much confidence at the start of the game because of the last couple of weeks,'' Williams said.

``We had to get through that and then as we started to play better our confidence came back.''

Terps center Obinna Ekezie had averaged only 16 minutes in the first two games against Clemson because of foul trouble.

This time he was whistled only twice in 38 minutes and topped the Terps in scoring with 20 points. He also had a game-high 10 points.

``Ekezie was the difference in the game,'' Clemson coach Rick Barnes said.

``You know what (Keith) Booth is going to do what he has to do, but Ekezie was the difference.''

All-ACC forward Booth scored 19 points while hitting 13 of 14 free throw attempts.

Meanwhile, Clemson's Terrell McIntyre, who had scored 34 points in the two wins over Maryland, was held to nine points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field.

``They just wouldn't let me catch the ball. They had someone every where I'd go,'' McIntyre said.

McIntyre and his teammates had been warned what Maryland would do.

``I told the team that Maryland would try to deny Terrell the ball, and that's where they put their defensive intensity,'' Clemson coach Rick Barnes said.

``They didn't guard our post guys at all. They had five guys playing (McIntyre) on every possession. That shows what this guy means to our offense.''

Still, Barnes thought if his Tigers had taken advantage of Maryland's slow start the outcome would have been different.

``We should have been up 20-2,'' he said. ``But we allowed them to control us inside and we didn't make our free throws.''

The Tigers were 11 for 28 from the line.

Clemson, which once ranked as high as second, has lost five of its last seven games.

Barnes admitted he is worried going into the NCAA tournament.

``If we don't get things fixed we've just got one more game to play this season,'' Barnes said. ILLUSTRATION: [Photo]

HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

Matt Kovarick of Maryland looks around for help after he came up

with a loose ball against Iker Iturbe of Clemson. Kovarick and his

Terps rewarded coach Gary Williams with his 350th coaching victory.

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