THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502120203
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLLEGE PARK, MD. LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Nobody's saying Maryland's Terrapins didn't play Saturday as if they were still thinking about having bumped off No. 1-ranked North Carolina last Tuesday.
But thanks to a second-half defensive crackdown and a late surge led by forward Keith Booth and center Joe Smith, the Terps avoided the ugly specter of an upset loss to Florida State at Cole Field House.
Unlike nearby George Washington, which upended then-No. 1 Massachusetts last weekend but was blown out by St. Bonaventure in its next game, the Terps battled Florida State for 35 minutes before running away for an 80-65 victory.
``Right now I think we have some poise at the end of games,'' Maryland coach Gary Williams said. ``We know what we want to do, whose hands the ball should be in, and I was pleased to see the way we reacted in a close game down the stretch. All in all it was really a good win for us because it was a game we could've easily lost.''
The Seminoles (11-9 overall, 4-7 ACC) stayed close, and led twice in the second half, even though flu-bitten star Bob Sura played with half a tank. They also did it thanks to an unlikely performance by 5-foot-11 reserve guard Keith Shepherd, who scored a career-high 17 points in the first half.
Maryland (19-4, 9-2), eighth-ranked in the country, saw its 38-33 halftime lead turn into a 51-50 deficit, however, when Sura hit a 3-pointer with 14:01 to play. Sura, who became the 28th player in ACC history to score 2,000 points, did not start, but he played 27 minutes and acquitted himself admirably with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
But after Corey Louis gave the Seminoles' their final lead, 55-53, with a dunk with 12:32 left, Sura didn't score again, and his team barely did.
Maryland held Florida State to two field goals in the next 11 minutes, by which time the Terps had the game wrapped up. Ahead, 64-62, with 5:08 remaining, Maryland went off on an 11-0 run begun by a Booth free throw.
Smith then followed his own miss and Booth hit two more free throws and a jumper that made it 71-62. A jumper by Johnny Rhodes and Smith's layup completed the decisive push.
``We came out a little sluggish on the defensive end, and it was up to us to get it up in the second half,'' said Booth, one of Maryland's five starters to score in double figures. Booth and Duane Simpkins had 11 each, Exree Hipp had 15 and Smith and Rhodes scored 18 apiece.
``We can score on anybody, so it's up to us to come out and shut our guys down,'' said Booth, who ended the game by scoring on LaMarr Greer on a questionable play.
As Greer casually held the ball under his basket waiting for the final five ticks of the clock, Booth embraced him as if to say, ``Nice game.'' Then he wrestled the ball from Greer and dunked at the buzzer.
``Very unclassy. Out of line,'' Sura said.
Booth shrugged.
``The ball came in bounds, I stole it back from him and got a basket,'' Booth said. ``Then the horn went off. That's when the game's over. I won't let up at all.''
Maryland, ultimately, followed the same course. by CNB