ATLANTA -- Like a gambler on a hot streak, Indiana's guards didn't want to believe their streak of unbelievable 3-point shooting would end. Then again, they didn't have the luxury to stop while they were ahead.

And that's where the Hoosiers were with 9:44 to play in Monday night's national championship game.

	Tom Coverdale and the Indiana guards couldn't get anything to fall over the final nine minutes.

Indiana, which buried Kent State with 15 3-pointers in reaching the Final Four; and two nights ago made 8 of 13 from long range to upset Oklahoma, was no longer just hanging around against Maryland -- IU had actually taken its first lead of the night.

Then they rolled a seven -- well, actually missed seven of their next eight 3-pointers -- while the heavily-favored Terrapins went on an 18-5 run to close out the school's first NCAA men's basketball championship.

The final score: 64-52. The numbers that led to those more than any else: Indiana's 10-for-23 shooting on 3-pointers.

No doubt, Indiana shot a more than respectable 43.5 percent on the night. Except, those snipers in candystriped pants who came into the contest shooting 53 percent from 3-point range, made just 1 of 9 from long distance in the final 9:40 of the game.

"I don't think it was fatigue, because I know I still have something left in my tank," said Indiana guard Kyle Hornsby, who finished with a team-high 14 points and made half of his eight 3-point attempts. "I think we all just tried to force some things at different times, and whether that was them trying to speed up the game or not, we just went with it. It was just a case of us getting caught up in Maryland's pace of the game. And then not executing in the end."

Maryland's defense certainly extended about as far as it could in trying to prevent Indiana's perimeter points. But the looks were there for Indiana's halfcourt offense all night, only the shots stopped falling the later the hour.

"We got it going and it was a great game down the stretch," Indiana coach Mike Davis said. "We couldn't make shots because they did a great job of taking away our open 3-point shots. When we took them, they were contested. We hesitated just a little bit because of their defense."

Compounding the problem and adding to the pressure put on Indiana's guards to hit 3s early, often and down the stretch was the ineptitude of Indiana's shooting inside the arc. And it wasn't just inside the paint, where Maryland's big bodies bullied the Hoosiers from the opening tip.

Jared Jeffries wasn't a factor for the second straight night inside the Dome, finishing with just eight points on 4-for-11 shooting. Jeff Newton -- he of the career-high 19 points off the bench in Saturday's semifinals -- never showed the same form in scoring five points on 2-for-7 shooting. And good luck getting anything out of Jarrad Odle, after he went oh-fer in the first half, clanking four shots and three free throws in 12 minutes.

"We didn't shoot a bad percentage on 3s, we just didn't get enough from the inside and that was because of the way they were playing us," Hornsby said. "They would have one guy on our post player and another, not double-teaming him, but ready to help and block the shot as soon as our post guy would make their move. Our inside guys are very unselfish, and they were kicking out to use for good shots. Maybe in retrospect, we should have kicked it back in to them."

Ironically, the Hoosiers took their only lead of the night on Jeffries' putback of a 3-point attempt by Hornsby that rattled in and out. It was one of only six two-point field goals Indiana made in the second half, and was quickly followed by Juan Dixon's dagger from 3-point range that gave Maryland the lead for good. The Hoosiers finished with the same number of 2s and 3s, shooting a woeful 10 of 48 from anywhere but behind the arc.

"I heard Coach (Gary) Williams yelling, 'Don't let them take 3s! Don't let them take 3s! Make 'em drive!' " Hornsby said. "So, they were running out at us, but we were still open. And I feel like we still hit a lot of them."

Indiana did -- in the first 30 minutes. Maryland owned the inside for all 40 minutes, but the Hoosiers wouldn't go away. Hornsby, Coverdale and Dane Fife combined to make 5 of 8 threes before halftime, when the Hoosiers had managed to pull within 31-25.

A case could have been made that Indiana should have led at halftime. But 2-for-7 shooting from the free throw line and 4-for-20 chucking from inside the 3-point arc prevented the Hoosiers from taking their first lead until the second half. And for a time in the second half, Indiana was still in its comfort zone, hitting 3s at the same 8-for-13 clip it hit against Oklahoma.

And, with their reputation preceding them, there was no reason to think a chill would fall over Hornsby and company. After Hornsby hit IU's last meaningful 3 with 4:21 to play to get IU within 53-49, the Hoosiers didn't score again until Donald Perry's 3 at the buzzer.

"Any team that can shoot 3s like that is never out of the game," Maryland guard Steve Blake said. "So, they were in it the whole time. But we finished them off in the end."

Odds were, the Terps would.

Ron Buck is the men's college basketball editor at ESPN.com.