ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Finally, in his 23rd year of coaching top-level college basketball, Gary Williams has guided a team to an NCAA Tournament regional final.
|  | | Lonny Baxter had a huge game for Maryland with 26 points and 14 rebounds. |
He's not ready to celebrate just yet.
"We win one more game this year and all of a sudden, I'm a lot smarter," Williams said after third-seeded Maryland beat No. 10 Georgetown 76-66 on Thursday night in a neighborhood battle played 3,000 miles from home. "That's the way it is in college basketball.
"I've had a lot of good players on teams who have reached the
Sweet 16."
In his 12th year as coach of the Terrapins, Williams later
admitted the accomplishment did mean a lot.
"I'm not trying to low-key it," he said. "But that's
something you think about later on. We've got one day to get ready
for a very good team. You don't want to be satisfied."
Lonny Baxter had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Juan Dixon added 13 points for the Terrapins (24-10), who will face top-seeded
Stanford in Saturday's West Regional final. The Cardinal beat
Cincinnati 78-65 to move within a game of the Final Four.
The winner of that game advances to the Final Four.
"We really struggled early," Williams said after Maryland's
ninth win in the last 10 games. "As we settled down, we were able
to execute more and make passes. We led the ACC in assists, so when
we pass the ball, we're a very good team.
"Our defense was really good in terms of making them take tough
shots. The second half, obviously Lonny had a great game. We were
able to get the ball to Lonny."
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March 22
This was a hard-fought battle between Beltway rivals 3,000 miles away from their homes.
Lonny Baxter was the player of the game. He came out aggressively and dominated inside and on the glass, scoring 26 big points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Since struggling against Georgia State in the first round, Baxter
has been a workhorse.
Juan Dixon had another good game with 13 points. And Maryland's defense did a good job on Georgetown's backcourt combo of Kevin Braswell and Demetrius Hunter. That duo was 7-for-24 from the floor.
Also, give Williams' team credit for doing a good job on the boards, pulling down 54 boards to Georgetown's 44. This comes against a Hoya team that outrebounded its opponents by around eight boards a game.
Two things have to concern Williams, though: Terence Morris struggled to four points on 1-of-11 shooting and Maryland made just 1-of-9 3-pointers. They'll have to do a little better in the regional final in those areas if they expect to make the Final Four.
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Baxter said every time he caught the ball, he tried to attack
the basket, even though he was going up against taller players.
"I play against big guys in our league, I always play against bigger people," said the 6-foot-8, 260-pounder.
After a basket by Lee Scruggs drew Georgetown within three
points, a layup by Tahj Holden and two free throws by Baxter put
the Terps ahead 63-56 with 5:10 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Kevin Braswell drew the Hoyas within four points
before a basket by Baxter and a fast-break layup by Danny Miller
made it 67-59. Georgetown wasn't closer than five points after
that.
Two free throws by Holden, who scored 10 points, and another
pair by Dixon in the final 28 seconds completed the scoring.
Georgetown coach Craig Esherick said the zone defense Maryland
employed starting late in the first half hurt his team.
"We lost all of our momentum," Esherick said. "We had a lot
of trouble getting good shots after that.
"And their full-court pressure when they started running at Kevin, it really bothered us. It forced us back on our heels."
Braswell, who led the Hoyas (25-8) with 17 points -- all but two
in the second half -- pointed to Maryland's 51-41 rebounding
advantage.
"Maryland showed that they can rebound, and we didn't stop
them," Braswell said. "They tried to push it up the court quickly
and take advantage of their quickness. The teams that have beaten
us this year have outrebounded us."
Demetrius Hunter added 11 points, Mike Sweetney had 10 points
and 11 rebounds, and Scruggs scored 10 for Georgetown.
The schools, located 15 miles apart on the East Coast, were
playing for the first time since the 1993-94 season and just the
second time in 21 years.
Neither team shot well -- Maryland finished at 40.3 percent and
Georgetown at 30.8 percent.
The Terps were playing in a third-round NCAA Tournament game for
the fifth time in eight years, but lost the previous four times.
In addition, two Boston College teams coached by Williams in the
1980s also bowed out in the third round, making Williams 0-for-6 in
such games.
That ended Thursday night.
Georgetown last reached the third round in 1996, when the Hoyas
advanced to the regional finals before being eliminated.
The Hoyas held Maryland well below its average of 85½ points,
but it wasn't enough.
Terence Morris, Maryland's third-leading scorer with a
12.5-point average, made his first field goal of the game with
17:45 remaining. Baxter followed with a dunk, and Steve Blake's
foul shot gave the Terps a 44-38 lead with 16:24 left -- largest
lead of the game to that stage.
The Hoyas drew within one point before Dixon's 3-pointer, two
free throws by Miller and a layup with Holden put Maryland on top
54-45 with 11:48 left.
The Hoyas then scored six straight points -- the last four on
free throws by Braswell -- to draw within three. But they would get
no closer.
Braswell, Georgetown's second-leading scorer with an 11.3-point
average, was held scoreless until making two free throws with 2:03
left in the half, giving the Hoyas a 36-31 lead.
Maryland then scored the last seven points of the half -- the
final two on Byron Mouton's short jumper with one second left -- for
a 37-36 lead, and the Terps stayed on top the rest of the way.
Former Georgetown coach John Thompson attended the game. Sitting
right behind him, in the third row at midcourt, were former Boston
Celtics star Bill Russell and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Georgetown Clubhouse
Maryland Clubhouse
Katz: Elite Terps finally raise the bar for Williams
Top-seeded Stanford overwhelms Cincinnati to reach Elite Eight
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Gary Williams receives the praise, but the Terrapins came to play. (Courtesy: NCAA Prod.)
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Craig Esherick and the Hoyas just couldn't step up to the challenge of Maryland. (Courtesy: NCAA Prod.)
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