Feb 19, 2004
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By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Georgia Tech solidified its standing in the upper tier of the Atlantic Coast Conference with an important win at an unlikely venue.
Jarrett Jack scored 21 points, and the 18th-ranked Yellow Jackets ended a nine-game losing streak at Maryland with a 75-64 victory Thursday night.
Clarence Moore and Will Bynum had 12 points apiece for the Yellow Jackets, who moved into a third-place tie with Wake Forest in the ACC by completing their first sweep of the Terrapins since the 1992-93 season.
“We knew if we lost, it would knock us way down in the ACC,” Jack said. “We had to come out and steal one on the road.”
Georgia Tech (19-6, 6-5) was 1-4 on the road in the ACC and had dropped 12 of 16 overall against Maryland. But the Yellow Jackets never trailed in the second half in bouncing back from Saturday’s disheartening loss at Virginia.
“It’s extremely important after a difficult loss,” Jack said.
Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt called the victory “very precious,” adding, “Obviously, I’m proud of our effort tonight because I thought we beat a very good Maryland basketball team.”
Actually, this is the youngest Maryland teams in 10 years – and it showed.
The Terrapins (13-9, 4-7) missed 48 field-goal tries, went 15-for-25 at the line and 3-for-20 from 3-point range.
“You can’t shoot 32 percent against a good team and expect to win,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “You have to put the ball in the basket at some point. I thought we had some good looks that we didn’t make; it gets old.”
Travis Garrison scored a career-high 16 points for the Terrapins, who fell deeper into seventh place in the ACC. It was a tough loss for a team fighting to extend the school’s streak of 10 straight NCAA tournament appearances.
Jarrett Jack drives against Maryland’s Mike James late in the second half.
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“I think one of the main reasons we lost tonight was that we weren’t able to make open shots. When you’re not making open shots, you’re not going to make the tough ones,” said Terps forward Nik Caner-Medley, who went 5-for-16 from the field.
Maryland got only four points from leading scorer John Gilchrist and three from senior center Jamar Smith. Gilchrist went 1-for-7 and Smith missed 11 of 12 attempts.
The Terrapins trailed 44-38 before Moore hit a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 burst that put the Yellow Jackets up by 13 with 11:56 remaining. Jack drilled successive 3-pointers during the spree, which took much of the life out of the sellout crowd of 17,950.
Maryland closed to 62-58 before a three-point play by Luke Schenscher with 3:02 left effectively ended the comeback.
Next up for Maryland: A matchup on the road Sunday against Duke.
“This thing is a long way from over,” Williams said. “There are five games left and lots can happen. We will see.”
Georgia Tech trailed 27-19 with five minutes left in the first half before Moore scored five points in a 16-2 run that gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead. Six different players contributed to the spree.
Maryland missed 10 of its first 12 shots, but Georgia Tech scored only four points over the first seven minutes while falling behind 11-4.
A spectacular follow-dunk by Garrison made it 20-11 and gave him 11 points – two short of his previous career high – with 11 minutes elapsed.
But Garrison made only two more baskets the rest of the way, and the poor-shooting Terrapins were unable to pick up the slack.
“You have to put the ball in the basket at some point,” Williams said.
