Jan. 30, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Nik Caner-Medley scored 19 points and Chris McCray had 16, leading a balanced attack that carried rejuvenated Maryland past No. 22 Georgia Tech 79-71 Sunday.
The Terrapins let a 10-point halftime lead dwindle to three before pulling away to their second win over a ranked opponent in a five-day span. Maryland lost three of five before upsetting No. 2 Duke on the road Wednesday.
John Gilchrist scored 15 points, Ekene Ibekwe had 14 and Travis Garrison grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds for the Terrapins (13-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won 10 of their last 11 home games against Georgia Tech (12-6, 3-4).
Isma’il Muhammad led the Yellow Jackets with 15 points and Luke Schenscher had 12. Georgia Tech, which was seeking to build on a 102-101 overtime win over No. 5 Wake Forest on Thursday, instead lost for the fourth time in five games and fell to 0-3 on the road in the ACC.
After a jumper by Gilchrist put Maryland up 63-52 with 9:30 left, Jarrett Jack made two foul shots and a 10-footer to ignite an 8-0 run that got Georgia Tech to 63-60. Ibekwe then made a three-point play, and the Yellow Jackets came up empty on four straight possessions before Caner-Medley hit a jumper off the glass for a 68-60 lead with 3:31 left.
Georgia Tech went 5:46 without scoring after cutting the deficit to three.
The Yellow Jackets shot 35 percent from the field, including 4-for-20 from 3-point range.
Tech played a seventh straight game without leading scorer B.J. Elder, who has a strained left hamstring. Will Bynum, who totaled 58 points in Tech’s previous two games, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting.
Maryland built a 27-15 rebounding edge and limited the Yellow Jackets to 1-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc in taking a 44-34 halftime lead.
After Caner-Medley scored 11 of Maryland’s first 18 points, a three-point play by Gilchrist and a free throw by James Gist made it 22-14. It was 31-25 before a driving layup by Sterling Ledbetter and two foul shots by Gilchrist put the Terrapins up by 10.
DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
