No. 11 Boston College 80, Maryland 66

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.<br> <br> 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&#39;s semifinals.<br> <br> James Gist scored 14 points for the sixth-seeded Terrapins (19-12), who routed Georgia Tech in Thursday&#39;s first round but fell behind early against the Eagles and never recovered.<br> <br> 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&#39;s first 21 points and taking a 21-point lead midway through the first half.<br> <br> The margin never got closer than 14 points, leaving the Terrapins with plenty to think about as they wait to find out whether they&#39;re heading back to the NCAA tournament after a one-year absence.<br> <br> 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.<br> <br> 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.<br> <br> 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&#39;s that?&#39;&#39;<br> <br> 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.<br> <br> 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.<br> <br> 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.<br> <br> (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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