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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) – Tony Akins had just thrown away a pass and things
weren't looking much better the next time down the court.
With the shot clock running down, Georgia Tech's point guard had
no other option except to shoot. His long 3-pointer with a little more than a minute remaining carried the Yellow Jackets to a 72-62 victory
over No. 13 Maryland on Tuesday night.
|  | | Tony Akins, right, hugs teammate Shaun Fein after Georgia Tech's 72-62 win over Maryland. Akins scored a game-high 28 points. |
"I had been doing that the whole game," said Akins, who
equaled his season high with 28 points. "I felt if I shot the
ball, it was going to go in."
First-year coach Paul Hewitt, whose team equaled both its
overall and Atlantic Coast Conference victory totals for all last
season, wasn't quite as confident when the ball left Akins' hands.
"We ran some things, but they defended it very well," Hewitt
said. "Tony bailed us out. I'm not going to tell you it was great
coaching."
Maryland (15-7, 6-4) lost for the third time in four games, and
this one was nearly as gut-wrenching as the overtime defeat to
then-No. 1 Duke 10 days earlier.
"There's no way we should lose to this team," said Juan Dixon,
who led Maryland with 18 points. "They wanted it more."
The Terrapins were tired and sluggish playing just two days
after a victory over Clemson. Maryland committed a staggering 23
turnovers, failing to take advantage of Georgia Tech losing the
ball 20 times in a sloppy, erratic game that appeared to belong in
November rather than February.
"We had this same team last year and won 25 games," Dixon
said. "We're not playing up to our potential. There's no way we
should be 6-4 in the ACC."
Things don't get any easier for Maryland, which gets to face
another No. 1 team Saturday when it travels to North Carolina. No
wonder things got noisy afterward in the locker room, where a
profanity-laced tirade could be heard by reporters waiting outside.
"Carolina's going to beat us up if we don't compete," Dixon
said.
Georgia Tech (13-8, 5-5) was picked to finish near the bottom of
the ACC but is now within reach of its first bid to the NCAA
tournament since 1996. The Yellow Jackets have defeated three
ranked teams, following up victories over No. 6 Virginia and No. 19
Wake Forest.
"Thirteen wins is not going to get us in the tournament,"
Hewitt said. "We're getting close. It's right there for us if we
keep playing hard."
The Yellow Jackets limited Maryland to just two points over the
final 4½ minutes, going ahead for good when Alvin Jones hit a free
throw to make it 61-60 with 3:38 remaining.
Akins hit the biggest shot of the night, which was only
appropriate since the 5-foot-11 junior repeatedly countered
Maryland's quickness by either penetrating the lane or hitting long
jumpers from outside the arc.
Actually, Akins gave Maryland its final basket, throwing away a
pass for one of his eight turnovers. Drew Nicholas took it the
other way for a dunk that pulled the Terps to 64-62.
With the shot clock winding down and Dixon in his face, Akins
had little choice but to launch a 3. It swished through with 1:09
to go, sending the crowd into a frenzy while Akins skipped down the
court with both hands in the air.
Georgia Tech sealed the victory at the foul line while Maryland
failed to score another point.
Akins equaled his season high for points, going 8-for-11 from the
field – including all three of his attempts from outside the arc.
The 6-11 Jones helped to shut down Maryland's imposing front
line. Terence Morris was help to nine points on 4-for-17 shooting,
while Lonny Baxter managed only three points before fouling out
with more than eight minutes left.
Jones had 11 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
"We're 5-5 in the ACC with wins over some pretty good teams,"
Hewitt said. "He's the reason."
Georgia Tech kept drawing fouls, going 21-for-32 at the
free-throw line. Maryland was only 5-for-8 from the stripe.
"It's tough to make up that difference," coach Gary Williams
said. "We've got to do a better job of running our offense."
Maryland, averaging 88.6 points per game, was held to its lowest
total of the season. The Terps were just 10-for-27 from the field in
the second half and finished at 40 percent for the game.
The game went back in forth in the first half, with the Yellow
Jackets seeming to gain the upper hand with an 8-0 run. But
Maryland closed with a 19-5 spurt, taking a 40-34 halftime lead.
Dixon hit a 3-pointer to begin the second half and Maryland
grabbed its biggest lead, 45-34, when Baxter followed up a missed
shot on his team's next possession.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Maryland Clubhouse
Georgia Tech Clubhouse
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