College Basketball Roundup : Coach Hospitalized After Maryland Wins

Maryland gained the rarest victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 36 years of postseason play Friday, but Coach Bob Wade wasn’t able to savor it for long.

Shortly after his Terrapins upset 17th-ranked and top-seeded North Carolina State, 71-49, in the opening game of the ACC tournament at Atlanta, Wade collapsed in the Maryland locker room and was taken to a hospital. He was listed in stable condition Friday night.

“They think right now that it’s dehydration,” said Herb Hartnett, Maryland sports information director.

Never in the history of the tournament had an eighth-seeded team defeated the first-place team. But the last-place Terrapins, who won just one of 14 conference games, raised their record to 9-19 and advanced to today’s semifinals. They will play North Carolina.

Wade’s new game plan, calling for a deliberate offense, was a major factor in the Maryland victory.

“Everybody knows State is very impatient. They like to run the basketball down your throat,” said Maryland’s John Johnson, who scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half. “We just tried to cut the game in half.”

Maryland’s patience worked to its advantage for most of the game. Playing in a half-court offense, the Terrapins worked the shot clock to single digits on most of their possessions. They also forced eight turnovers in the first half, leading to a 22-3 run and a 28-12 lead with 6:42 left in the half.

The Wolfpack (20-8), plagued by poor shooting the entire game and beaten on the boards, had a brief comeback when Kelsey Weems’ dunk off a steal cut the lead to 40-30 with 14:26 left. Maryland, however, countered with a 9-0 run for a 49-30 lead on Johnson’s three-point play with 12:11 left.

After that, the Wolfpack got no closer than 12 points, and the final score was Maryland’s biggest lead.

“They just beat us in every phase, every aspect of the game,” Wolfpack Coach Jim Valvano said. “What could go wrong, went wrong.”

Wade was initially answering reporters’ questions just outside the locker room when he became quiet and walked into the locker room.

Reporters were taken to an another area, then were ordered to leave the corridor near the locker room. A stretcher was brought in, and Wade was taken to Georgia Baptist Hospital.

A hospital spokeswoman, Katie Wright, said Wade was complaining of chest pains when brought to the emergency room in an ambulance.

North Carolina 77, Georgia Tech 62--J.R. Reid scored 17 points as the No. 9-ranked Tar Heels dominated the Yellow Jackets in another first-round game.

The Tar Heels (25-7), seeded fourth after finishing the regular ACC season tied for second place, led at halftime, 39-25.

Reid scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, helping to increase North Carolina’s lead to 60-36.

Georgia Tech (20-11), seeded fifth, made a brief run and closed within 61-45 on Dennis Scott’s three-point basket with 9:04 left, but the Tar Heels scored the next eight points to clinch the victory.

Duke 88, Wake Forest 64--Led by Danny Ferry, who scored 24 points, the No. 7 Blue Devils made their first eight shots and raced to the easy first-round win.

Duke (23-6) took an 18-8 lead after a Ferry layup at 16:03. Almost 11 minutes later, the Blue Devils had increased the lead to 40-20.

Freshman Chris King scored 31 points for Wake Forest (13-15), which moved within 46-33 at halftime on a 7-0 run, but the Blue Devils opened the second half with a 16-2 surge for a 62-35 lead.

Big East Conference

Syracuse 79, Providence 76--Freshmen David Johnson and Billy Owens combined for 21 points during a decisive second-half run as the No. 5 Orangemen held off the Friars in the quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden.

The win was the 21st straight for Syracuse over Providence in the 10 years the Big East has existed. The Orangemen (26-6) will meet No. 11 Seton Hall in today’s semifinals.

Johnson, averaging only 3.8 points this season, scored 13 of his 18 points during the 29-17 run that turned a 41-41 tie with 15:33 left into a 70-58 lead with 4:58 left.

Owens scored eight of his 18 points during the flurry, most of which came with Derrick Coleman on the bench with foul trouble.

Providence (18-10) closed within 74-73 with 51 seconds left on a jumper by Matt Palazzi, but Owens made two free throws to make it 76-73 with 36 seconds remaining. Johnson then clinched the victory with a dunk and free throw with 14 seconds to go.

Georgetown 82, Boston College 52--The No. 3 Hoyas turned in an outstanding defensive performance to shut down the Eagles and high-scoring Dana Barros in a quarterfinal game.

With guard Charles Smith, who scored 24 points, leading the way, Georgetown (24-4) broke the game open midway through the first half. Two free throws by Corey Beasley brought Boston College (12-17) within 17-15 with 9:41 left. From then on, it was all Georgetown.

The Hoyas held the Eagles scoreless over the next 5:02 while scoring 14 points, including six by center Dikembe Mutombo, to take a 31-15 lead. Georgetown started the second half with a 10-4 run and took a 60-31 lead with 11:32 remaining.

Barros set a Big East tournament scoring record Thursday night with 38 points in an 81-74 first-round win over St. John’s. But the Hoyas held the conference’s leading scorer the last two seasons to five points in the first half. Barros finished with 11 points.

Seton Hall 74, Connecticut 66--Center Ramon Ramos scored 21 points, and the Pirates (26-5) took advantage of foul problems encountered by Cliff Robinson, leading scorer for the Huskies (16-12).

Seton Hall led, 46-43, with 8:17 to play, but Robinson, averaging 19.9 points a game, had four fouls. And Seton Hall took advantage of his shooting slump to open a comfortable lead. Robinson, a senior center, finished the game shooting 3 for 17 from the field. He missed his last seven shots and 12 of his last 13.

Southeastern Conference

Florida 62, Georgia 61--Dwayne Davis put in a rebound with eight seconds left to give the top-seeded Gators their only lead of the game and a victory in the quarterfinal round at Knoxville, Tenn.

Florida (20-11), which finished first in the regular-season SEC race, trailed the Bulldogs (15-16) by as many as 14 points and was behind by 11 at halftime before beginning its comeback. The Gators didn’t score their first basket until the game was nearly five minutes old.

Livingston Chatman converted a three-point play with 1:20 left to pull the Gators within 61-60. Georgia’s Pat Hamilton was fouled with 18 seconds left but missed the first shot of a one-and-one.

Florida quickly worked the ball to 7-2 center Dwayne Schintzius, whose short hook sailed over the basket and into the hands of Davis, who laid it back in.

Tennessee 95, LSU 77--Mark Griffin scored 22 points, including five three-pointers, and the Volunteers never trailed as they beat the Tigers in a quarterfinal game.

The Volunteers (19-9), who won their fourth straight, built an 11-point lead in the first half, which LSU cut to 35-31 on Chris Jackson’s layup with 2:21 left in the half, but Griffin’s three-pointer with three seconds left gave Tennessee a 41-33 halftime lead. Three three-pointers, two by Griffin and one by Greg Bell, stretched the lead to 54-39 six minutes into the second half.

LSU (20-11) never threatened, despite a 37-point performance by Jackson. The freshman guard made only 15 of his 36 shots.

Big Eight Conference

Oklahoma 95, Colorado 87--The No. 2 Sooners survived a scare as they needed two overtimes to overcome the last-place Buffaloes in the first-round game at Kansas City, Mo.

Stacey King, who led Oklahoma with 28 points, scored the first five points of the second overtime. The Sooners (27-4) played without guard Mookie Blaylock. Blaylock, averaging 21 points per game, was suspended for one game after his arrest last weekend for public intoxication.

King scored 10 of the Sooners’ final 13 points in regulation, including two free throws with 15 seconds left that made the score 68-62. But a three-pointer by Steve Wise, who scored 30 points, brought Colorado (7-21) to within 68-65 with nine seconds left.

After Terrance Mullins missed the first of a one and one with seven seconds left, Reggie Morton made a three-pointer at the buzzer to force the first overtime.

Oklahoma overcame a six-point deficit in the first extra session, eventually drawing even at 77-77 on a three-pointer by Tyrone Jones with 1:23 left. The Sooners had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Skeeter Henry missed a jumper.

Colorado, which used a deliberate halfcourt offense, twice fell behind by seven points in the second overtime. The Buffaloes pulled to within 91-87 with a minute left, but got no closer.

Missouri 98, Nebraska 70--Gary Leonard had 17 points, and Byron Irvin came off the bench to score 15 as the No. 10 Tigers capitalized on Nebraska turnovers to rout the Cornhuskers.

Irvin, the Tigers’ leading scorer with a 19-point average, did not start because of a groin injury.

The Tigers (25-7) outscored Nebraska, 23-5, over a seven-minute period of the first half to take a 30-12 lead with 8:06 to play. Nebraska (16-15), which made 10 turnovers in the first half, made five straight at one point of the Missouri run.