No. 11 Boston College 80, Maryland 66

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Posted 1:16AM on Saturday, March 11, 2006

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Craig Smith had 21 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists to lead No. 11 Boston College past Maryland 80-66 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Friday night. Tyrese Rice added 19 points and Jared Dudley had 18 for the third-seeded Eagles (25-6), who got off to a great start in their first tournament appearance to earn a date with No. 10 North Carolina in Saturday's semifinals. James Gist scored 14 points for the sixth-seeded Terrapins (19-12), who routed Georgia Tech in Thursday's first round but fell behind early against the Eagles and never recovered. The win allowed Boston College to avenge a 73-71 loss at Maryland in its league debut, which was part of an 0-3 start in its new conference. The Eagles led throughout this time, scoring 19 of the game's first 21 points and taking a 21-point lead midway through the first half. The margin never got closer than 14 points, leaving the Terrapins with plenty to think about as they wait to find out whether they're heading back to the NCAA tournament after a one-year absence. Even if they get in, they could be without leading scorer Nik Caner-Medley, who suffered an apparent right ankle injury when he went down under the basket with about 16 minutes to play. Caner-Medley limped off the court before being taken to the locker room for further examination, and did not return to the game. Boston College roared to leads of 19-2 and 22-4 before going ahead 27-6 on a jumper from Akida McLain off a feed from Smith with about 9 minutes left in the half. And it was clear just how badly things were going for the Terrapins with only a few glances toward the Maryland bench and demonstrative coach Gary Williams, who had already peeled off his jacket by the first official timeout. A few minutes later, Williams seemed exasperated after D.J. Strawberry forced up a bad shot from the left side early in the possession, prompting Williams to yell across the court, ``D.J.! What's that?'' And when the Terps allowed Louis Hinnant to penetrate and dish to Smith for an easy dunk just before halftime for a 41-22 lead, Williams could do little other than raise both hands and clutch his head in frustration. Maryland shot just 7-for-29 (24 percent) in the opening half, while Boston College shot 50 percent and had 12 assists on 14 baskets. The Eagles also went 5-for-8 from 3-point range in the half. The lead grew to 59-35 on a runner by Rice with 12.5 minutes left before the Terrapins closed the margin to 14 points three times in the final minutes. Maryland made its best push with a 10-0 run to close to 61-47 on free throws by Gist with 7:31 left, but Boston College answered with two free throws from Rice and a tip-in by Dudley to push it back to 18. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)