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NCAA Tournament Recap (Valparaiso-Maryland)
Posted: Thur March 11, 1999 at 8:01 p.m. EST ORLANDO (Ticker) -- Terence Morris and Laron Profit scored 18 points apiece as second-seeded Maryland pulled away for an 82-60 victory over 15th-seeded Valparaiso in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the South Region. Steve Francis added 15 points and seven assists for the Terrapins (27-5), who used a pair of 10-0 runs in the second half to separate themselves from Valparaiso. The smaller, more mobile frontline of Maryland often got to offensive rebounds against the taller, slower Crusaders, resulting in many easy follow shots. "They play a high zone, so we had to move it on the wing," said Francis. "We got the ball to Terrell Stokes and Laron Profit and they made some running jump shots." Maryland, making its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, will play 10th-seeded Creighton in the second round Saturday. Zoran Viskovic scored 14 points, while Greg Tonagel and Jason Jenkins added 10 apiece for Valparaiso, which was the surprise of the first two rounds in the 1998 NCAA Tournament. The Crusaders (23-9) reached the Midwest Region semifinals last year, upsetting Mississippi and Florida State. But Viskovic was the only returning starter from that team as Valparaiso started three freshmen this time around. Lubos Barton, the leading scorer at 14 points per game, fouled out with 8:11 to play after scoring only six. "The offensive rebounding by Maryland and also the press were the areas where they did the most damage," said Crusaders coach Homer Drew. "There were two lapses where they scored 12 points just because of their hard press. I'm happy about the courage the team showed even though we came out with a loss." A layup by Viskovic pulled the Crusaders within 50-44 at the 16:03 mark, but Francis drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing, triggering a 10-0 spurt. Profit had a six-footer before Danny Miller added a basket in transition. Juan Dixon capped the burst with a shot from beyond the arc to make it 60-44 with 12:56 left. Two free throws by Jenkins made it 61-49 with 10:34 to go, but Profit had six points in a 10-0 run as the Terps opened a 22-point bulge. A fast-break lay-in by Miller gave Maryland its largest lead at 82-59 with 62 seconds remaining. "We were shooting the ball well, but we had to get on them a little harder," said Profit. "We needed to press them more and make it tougher for them to make passes and get them out of rhythm. You always look to get better, but to get the win is the most important thing." "Laron is a good defensive asset," said Francis. "We needed to get excited and Laron stepped up his defense. He got a lot of steals and lay-ups today. He's done this for us all year." The Terrapins held Valparaiso to 23 percent (7-of-31) shooting in the second half and 36 percent (21-of-59) for the game. The first half was a case of Maryland building leads only to see the Crusaders claw their way back into the game. The Terps took an 11-4 lead 2:58 into the game on a 3-pointer by Francis, but Valparaiso closed within 13-11 on a 3-pointer by Milo Stovall. The teams traded 10-2 runs as Maryland went up 23-13 on a 3-pointer by Stokes with 12:36 left, only to see the Crusaders close to 25-23 after Jenkins hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc. Morris also had 10 rebounds as Maryland shot 53 percent (32-of-61) from the floor and received 23 points from its bench. Profit was 8-of-10 from the field and Morris 8-of-15.© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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