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Saturday, Mar. 11 4:00pm ET
Waiting finally over for Terrapins

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Maryland's prize for ending its string of Alantic Coast Conference semifinal frustrations is a date with the team that has been almost unbeatable in the league the past two years.

Juan Dixon had 21 points and Lonny Baxter 15, including Maryland's final five, as the Terrapins (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) defeated North Carolina State 64-61 Saturday.

"I'm not celebrating yet," Baxter said after the Terrapins, playing in the ACC semifinals for the sixth consecutive year, earned a berth in the championship for the first time since 1984.

Second-seeded Maryland's opponent Sunday will be top-seeded and third-ranked Duke, which is 36-1 against league competition the past two seasons.

The Blue Devils' lone loss in that span? On Feb. 9, the Terrapins ventured to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., and left with a 98-87 victory.

"Having won a game against them this year, at least when you talk to your team you're not talking about something that hasn't happened before," coach Gary Williams said. "It did happen, and maybe we can make the same thing happen again if we play as well as we did that night."

Maryland (24-8) overcame 21 turnovers and a first-half drought that enabled N.C. State to rally from a 13-point deficit.

"We may not play great all the time, but we're not going to go away," Williams said. "I'm really proud of our team. We could have gone away pretty easily when N.C. State made their run."

The sixth-seeded Wolfpack (17-12) converted the Terrapins' miscues into 20 points, but came up short in their bid for their second berth in the ACC championship game in four seasons under coach Herb Sendek.

"We did a lot of things well," said freshman Damien Wilkins, who led N.C. State with 19 points. "It's tough to swallow this loss."

N.C. State played without top rebounder and third-best scorer Damon Thornton, sidelined by a twisted left ankle early in the second half of the Wolfpack's quarterfinal victory over Virginia.

Ron Kelley added 11 points for the Wolfpack, held to 38-percent shooting.

The loss raised speculation about whether N.C. State might have blown its last chance at an NCAA tournament berth, relegating the Wolfpack to a spot in the National Invitation Tournament.

"I think the majority of us wouldn't want to play in the NIT," sophomore guard Anthony Grundy said. "We'll have to see what the head man says."

Terence Morris added 11 points and 11 rebounds for Maryland, which will be seeking its third ACC title Sunday.

There were five lead changes and three ties in the second half before Dixon scored on a fastbreak layup to put Maryland ahead to stay at 59-58 with 2:21 remaining.

After N.C. State's Tim Wells missed a 17-footer from the right wing, Baxter scored on a spinning layup to make it 61-58. Wilkins made one foul shot at the 60-second mark, but Baxter banked in a short jumper, then added a foul shot on the Terrapins' next possession to stretch it to 64-59 with 22 seconds left.

A tip-in by Kelley closed the scoring with 22 seconds left. N.C. State had a shot to tie it, but Wells missed from the left wing with four seconds remaining, and Maryland got the rebound and ran out the clock.

It looked early like the Terrapins would roll to an easy victory. Twelve minutes in, Maryland was up 19-6, and N.C. State had missed 11 of its 12 field-goal attempts. The Wolfpack scored on just five possessions to that stage, and on four of those N.C. State got only a single free throw.

But the Wolfpack took the lead with 14 points on five possessions, and Maryland helped N.C. State by making just one field goal over the final seven-plus minutes of the half.

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