"We made it a big issue for us to get the win here," Maryland's Laron Profit said.
"It's something we talked about all year" said Steve Francis, who scored 18 points as the fourth-ranked Terps defeated Clemson 81-79 in overtime yesterday.
"But we still tried to look at it as another game. The odds were against them because they were really trying to beat us."
Francis made four free throws down the stretch in regulation to keep Maryland in position and Terence Morris had the Terps' final two baskets - including the game-winner with 14.4 seconds left.
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| AP PHOTO Maryland guard Steve Francis, who is rumored to be leaving for the NBA after this season, scored 19 points in Maryland's 81-79 overtime victory over Clemson. |
"We knew we had to hit the shots, no matter who was going to do it," said Morris, who tied a career high with 26 points. "Fortunately, they called the plays for me."
Morris's most important points came in the final minutes. He converted Terrell Stokes' 3-point miss to tie it at 79, then hit the winning jump shot for Maryland (6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, 18-2 overall).
Terrell McIntyre led Clemson with 25 points, but missed a 3-pointer and was stuffed on a drive after Morris' game-winner.
Clemson (1-6, 12-8) has lost seven of eight.
Francis gave Maryland the lead in the final minutes with a key steal and four free throws, the last two putting the Terps up 70-68 with 2:07 left.
But all they managed the rest of regulation was Laron Profit's foul shot, and Clemson forced overtime on Andrius Jurkunas' fifth 3-pointer with 14.2 seconds left.
Profit's long 3-pointer in the closing seconds failed to hit the rim.
The Tigers looked like they might pull off an upset, after McIntyre canned a 30-footer to go up 79-77 with 2:26 remaining in overtime.
That's when Morris struck. "I felt pretty good shooting in warmups," he said. "I had the hot hand early and it just carried over."
Maryland coach Gary Williams had visions of another Littlejohn stumble, where the Terps had lost nine of 10 coming in.
But their defense and poise kept them close enough for Morris' winning plays.
"I think that's one of the hardest things when you're playing on the road and get tied up waiting for the end of regulation there and have to come to the bench and regroup," Williams said. "That's where seniors really come in handy."
Clemson turned to its own star senior, McIntyre, in closing moments. McIntyre thought he felt contact on the final play and was upset the referees didn't call anything.
Tigers coach Larry Shyatt told McIntyre to attack the basket. "I thought it was admirable but (McIntyre) just didn't make the play," Shyatt said. "We left the play on the shoulders of the officials."
Morris kept Maryland in it early with 15 points in the first half.
But he was mostly quiet after the break.
Francis' 3-pointer tied the score at 53, then Profit gave Maryland its first lead since early in the game.
There were five ties and five lead changes in the final 11 minutes of regulation.
The Terps shot more than 60 percent (14-of-23), committed only seven turnovers, had Francis pull off two highlight film plays and still trailed 38-36 at halftime.
Earlier Sunday, ESPN reported that Francis will forego his senior season and enter the NBA draft at the conclusion of this season.
01-25-99
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