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Wednesday, Feb. 16 7:00pm ET
Maryland routs Georgia Tech | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- The Maryland Terrapins were supposed to depend on Terence Morris this season. Instead, the team leader turned out to be a spindly sophomore who truly savors his role as the go-to guy. Juan Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 33 points in the opening 12 minutes Wednesday night as No. 22 Maryland took control early and cruised past Georgia Tech 92-70. Dixon went 12-for-17 from the field, including 4-for-5 beyond the arc, and was 5-for-5 at the free throw line. The 150-pound guard also had a career-best seven assists before leaving to a standing ovation with 2:48 left. "We're just feeding off of him right now. We're going to ride him as far as he can go," said Morris, a preseason All-America and the only starter with two years' experience. "Juan really enjoys being an important part of this team," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "And, as the players say, Juan can get a shot off any time, any place." Dixon hasn't scored less than 17 points in his last 10 games and is averaging 23.3 points over that span. He's the first Terrapin since Joe Smith in 1994-95 to have at least three 30-point games in a season. "I just want to keep on working and keep on getting better," Dixon said. "I just want to win, that's all." Lonny Baxter had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Terrapins, who moved into a second-place tie with North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Maryland (18-7, 7-4) built a 20-point lead in the first half and never let the margin shrink below double figures. The Terrapins have won seven of eight in the ACC after an 0-3 start that included a 69-68 defeat at Georgia Tech last month. Morris was 7-of-11 from the field and scored 16 points as Maryland bounced back from a poor shooting performance in Sunday's loss at Temple. "That Dixon is something else," Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins said. "He was sensational, but they have a lot of pieces." Tony Akins scored 17 points and Clarence Moore had a career-high 15 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (11-13, 3-8). Georgia Tech is 0-6 on the road this season and winless at Maryland since 1994. "We'll stay after this thing," said Cremins, whose job is rumored to be in jeopardy. "It's trying and it's challenging, but no one's giving up." After Dixon scored 10 of the Terrapins' first 12 points, Morris capped an 11-3 run with a 3-pointer for a 15-8 lead. Minutes later, Dixon twice scored from beyond the arc and beat the shot clock with a short hook during a 10-0 run that made it 29-15 with 8:01 left in the first half. Akins stopped the surge with a 3-pointer, but Baxter followed with three straight baskets to put Maryland up by 17 points. It was 40-20 before the Yellow Jackets ended the half with a 10-2 run to close to 42-30. Georgia Tech scored the first basket after halftime, but Maryland responded with a 7-2 run to boost the margin to 15. Morris then picked up his fourth foul, but the Yellow Jackets were unable to capitalize. It was 49-39 before Steve Blake scored from long range and Dixon connected from 3-point range and from 15 feet. Baxter then capped the 10-0 run with an alley-oop dunk to put Maryland up by 20 with 13 minutes left. | ALSO SEE Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
AUDIO/VIDEO   Lonny Baxter slams home the Drew Nicholas alley-oop.avi: 601 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Terence Morris takes it in for the hoop and foul.avi: 803 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Juan Dixon makes the steal and finishes at the other end.avi: 601 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||