Maryland too much for Clemson in College Park

Photo by Mitch Stringer / US PRESSWIRE

by CU Athletic Communications - Sat Feb 23 14:56:07 GMT-04:00 2013

COLLEGE PARK, MD – Maryland put together a 21-8 run in the first eight minutes of the second half to pull away to a 72-59 victory over Clemson on Saturday at the Comcast Center. The win improved the Terrapins’ record to 19-8 overall, 7-7 in the ACC. With the loss, Clemson fell to 13-13 overall and 5-9 in league play.

Devin BookerDevin Booker
Sr. Forward
#31 6-8, 250
Whitmire, SC
View Full Profile led the Tigers once again on the road, making 5-of-10 field goals and 6-of-9 at the line for a 16-point effort. Jordan RoperJordan Roper
Fr. Guard
#20 5-11, 165
Columbia, SC
View Full Profile added 13 points, while Milton JenningsMilton Jennings
Sr. Forward
#24 6-9, 225
Summerville, SC
View Full Profile scored 10 with a team-best nine rebounds. Maryland was led by Nick Faust with 18. The Terps shot 47.6 percent and won the rebound margin by 10, its season average. The Tigers shot 44 percent but were guilty of 11 turnovers, losing that battle by three.

“I thought Maryland played pretty well today to be honest with you, and we didn’t play well enough to win," Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. "We had spurts of good play, I thought we had about 3 or 4 stretches for six minutes where we played well. Maryland’s ability to rebound the ball offensively certainly was problematic, and their size made it hard for us to score inside. We turned the ball over a few times against the press, which was probably a little bit of a factor as well.”

Booker and Jennings provided a strong start, scoring Clemson’s first 10 points as the Tigers jumped out to an early six-point lead. Up 16-12 after a three by Roper, Maryland then executed an 8-0 run over the next two and a half minutes. The teams exchanged baskets the next few possessions until a breakaway dunk by Jake Layman made it 24-20. Two straight putbacks by Charles Mitchell made it an eight-point cushion with 7:37 to play.

Maryland led 32-22, but Clemson forced a few turnovers and converted on the offensive end to pull back within six at the final first half timeout. Roper’s second trifecta pulled Clemson within two at 34-32, and the Tigers trailed by just three at half after a free throw from Maryland’s Seth Allen in the final seconds.

The Terps stretched the lead to start the second frame, scoring seven straight to move ahead 44-35 to force a Clemson timeout. The lead moved to 16 on a length of the floor break that ended with an Alex Len layup, with Maryland ahead 56-40. A three-point play by Roper pulled Clemson to within 10 at 59-49 with 6:16 to play, but Faust quickly answered with another long three.

Maryland’s lead never fell below 10 the rest of the game, as Booker was relegated to the bench for several minutes after being poked in the eye.

“Maryland was more aggressive on defense in the second half," Booker said. "I kept trying to get shots but they executed better than we did. That changed everything.”

The Tigers return home to face the University of North Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 28. The game will be televised by ESPN and is slated to tip off at 7:00 PM from Littlejohn Coliseum.

Postgame Quotes

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell

Opening Statement:

“I thought Maryland played pretty well today to be honest with you, and we didn’t play well enough to win. We had spurts of good play, I thought we had about 3 or 4 stretches for six minutes where we played well. Maryland’s ability to rebound the ball offensively certainly was problematic, and their size made it hard for us to score inside. We turned the ball over a few times against the press, which was probably a little bit of a factor as well.”

On if there was one thing in particular Maryland did to get the win:

“We didn’t play bad today; we just didn’t play well enough to win. Defensively we weren’t sharp. We were a little bit slow at times. We were a step slow on about three or four plays. We gave up three offensive rebounds on free throws, and we didn’t win enough tough plays today. Against a team this big and strong, that was really my message to the guys ‘this is a physical game, the Maryland team is big and strong, the post players are grinders, and even their guards try to get down and drive you.’ I just didn’t think we matched their physicality the full 40 minutes and the times we didn’t, they got easy baskets. I thought Faust’s ability to make those three-pointers really loosened things up for them and took some stress off the game. It gave them the breathing room they needed at home.”

On if the composition of Maryland is rare in the ACC:

“They probably have more depth than most teams in terms of just being able to roll that many guys through. I don’t know if there’s much of a drop off, their bench post players played well. Certainly Alex Len is different from everybody else because he’s so big and so long. But the other guys are all big and strong and capable. That’s rare to have that many, Miami has three but [Maryland] has four. Even their guards, there’s a lot of balance there’s about five guys that can all play very well. They can bring in shooters and they can bring in drivers. Pe’shon Howard is a good player, and he’s a guy coming off the bench so there’s just a lot of good depth on this team.”

Clemson Freshman Guard Jordan Roper:

On Maryland’s second half run:

“We didn’t make a lot of tough plays. Maryland got a lot of 50-50 balls and we didn’t knock down the shots that we needed to.”

On Clemson’s play:

“It was an early game and whoever came out fast was going to win the game. We weren’t ready to fight today. Throughout the game [Maryland] fought more.”

Clemson Senior Forward Devin Booker

On what changed in the second half:

“Maryland was more aggressive on defense in the second half. I kept trying to get shots but they executed better than we did. That changed everything.”

On Maryland’s second chance points:

“That could have been the turning point of the game if we had kept them off the boards. That was partially my fault for not getting enough rebounds. They are an aggressive team. They’re at the top of the league in rebounds so that’s what they’re good at.”

On Maryland’s big lineup:

“I don’t think it made that much of a difference. We got on them early when they had all those bigs in there. It didn’t change much, but they do have a lot of depth in the post. That helps them get a lot of rebounds and second chance points.”

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