Nine dancing
Francis 9-of-9 from field as Terps waltz by Wolfpack
Posted: Sunday January 10, 1999 05:31 PM
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Terence Morris (rear) and Maryland forced N.C. State into 17 first-half turnovers AP |
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Steve Francis was perfect, and No. 5 Maryland played an almost flawless game in bouncing back from two straight poor performances.
It was a refreshing change of pace for the Terrapins, who excelled offensively and defensively Sunday in posting the most lopsided Atlantic Coast Conference victory in school history, 94-48 over North Carolina State.
Francis made all nine of his shots from the field and scored 22 points as Maryland successfully purged memories of an 18-point home loss to Duke and a narrow win at Virginia.
"I think we got tired of not playing well," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "That was my only message today: Let's just get back to playing like we do."
His players followed orders magnificently, shooting 60 percent and forcing 31 turnovers while limiting the Wolfpack to 31 percent shooting (16-for-51). The Terrapins led by 10 after three minutes and by 24 at halftime.
Laron Profit scored 17 for the Terrapins (15-2, 3-1 ACC). The 46-point margin surpassed a 40-point victory over ACC foe Clemson in 1953.
Francis, who missed 11 of 14 shots against Duke and scored only 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting against Virginia, made both his 3-point tries and was 2-for-2 at the line against the Wolfpack.
"I had the touch today. I couldn't miss," he said.
Francis also had three of Maryland's 17 steals.
"We wanted to set a tone for the ACC so that people know that we can play the way we used to play," he said. "We were very aggressive defensively."
Keith Bean had nine points and nine steals for N.C. State (10-5, 1-3), which does not have a senior on the squad. The Wolfpack played without leading scorer Adam Harrington, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle.
"We were soundly beaten in every phase of the game. We were overwhelmingly defeated today," N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said. "I don't know that there was any area we played well."
Maryland has won 10 straight home games against N.C. State, the Terrapins' longest streak against an ACC team in school history. Maryland also has won 10 of the last 11 games between the teams overall.
"It was a great win for us because N.C. State is not a bad team," Williams said. "We had some fun today."
The game was virtually decided in the final eight minutes of the first half, when the Wolfpack failed to make a field goal during a 20-5 Maryland run that made it 48-24 at halftime.
N.C. State had 17 first-half turnovers and shot only 36 percent from the field.
The Terrapins hit their first five shots, including a pair of 3-pointers by Profit and two layups by Francis, to take a 12-2 lead with three minutes gone.
With eight minutes gone, the Wolfpack had five field goals compared to seven turnovers and trailed 21-11.
It was 28-19 before Francis scored seven points and Terence Morris made three baskets in the lane during a 14-1 run that made it 42-20.
"Once things started to unravel, we could not respond," Sendek said. "Things quickly went from bad to worse."
Any chance the Wolfpack had of making a comeback was quickly dispelled at the outset of the second half, when Maryland used a 10-2 burst to boost the margin to 32 points. A 16-0 spree made it 76-31 with seven minutes left.
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