Men's Basketball ACCtion: Saturday, February 21
Maryland, Miami and NC State win at home; FSU escapes with a road win.



Feb. 21, 2009

Maryland Wins a Thriller, Downs No. 3 North Carolina, 88-85, in Overtime
Greivis Vasquez recorded Maryland's first triple-double since 1987, and the Terrapins rallied from a 16-point deficit to shock No. 3 North Carolina 88-85 in overtime Saturday, ending the Tar Heels' 10-game winning streak.

Vasquez had a career-high 35 points and 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The junior guard hit a key 3-pointer with 1:15 left and made two free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining to put Maryland up 88-85.

After North Carolina's Ty Lawson lost the ball while heading toward the basket just before the buzzer, many of the 17,950 fans stormed the court to celebrate the unlikely upset.

The triple-double by Vasquez was the first for Maryland (17-9, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) since Derrick Lewis did it twice in 1987.

Lawson led the Tar Heels (24-3, 10-3) with 24 points and Danny Green had 18. North Carolina led 52-36 with 14:17 left in regulation.

Miami Hits 11 Threes in 69-58 Win Over Boston College
Jack McClinton scored 22 points Saturday and the Miami Hurricanes tied a season high with 11 3-pointers to beat Boston College, 69-58.

The Hurricanes made seven consecutive shots en route to a 20-5 lead, and Boston College was never closer than eight points the rest of the way.

The Eagles' Tyrese Rice was held scoreless for the first 16 1/2 minutes and finished 3-for-15 against Miami's zone defense. He totaled 11 points, seven below his average.

James Dews had 14 points and Brian Asbury recorded 12 for Miami, which shot 52 percent. Joe Trapani scored 17 for the Eagles, who shot 36 percent.

Fells, Pack Hold Off Virginia, 72-67
NC State's Courtney Fells spent all afternoon trying to keep Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg from scoring baskets with his sticky defense.

But when it came down to the final 10 seconds of Saturday's game against the Cavaliers at the RBC Center, Fells also knew he had to take charge of Wolfpack's offense to prevent a devastating collapse.

So the senior from Shannon, Miss., was eager to step up to the free throw line to seal the Wolfpack's 72-67 victory over the Cavs, hitting four shots from the line, committing a preventative foul and grabbing the game's biggest rebound - all with less than 10 seconds on the clock.

The Wolfpack (15-10 overall, 5-7 ACC) had let a 17-point second-half lead evaporate to a single point when Landesberg hit a pair of free throws with 8.7 seconds remaining. Fells answered immediately on the other end, then fouled Landesberg right in front of the Virginia bench to prevent the freshman guard from setting up a 3-point shot for one of his teammates.

Florida State Escapes Virginia Tech, 67-65
Toney Douglas scored 22 points, including a tie-breaking runner with 6 seconds remaining, and Florida State beat Virginia Tech 67-65 on Saturday night.

Derwin Kitchen added a career-high 19 points and Uche Echefu had 12 for the Seminoles (21-6, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won for the fifth time in six games. They also moved out of a four-way tie and into sole possession of second place in the conference.

The Hokies (16-10, 6-6) got 25 points from Malcolm Delaney and 15 from A.D. Vassallo, but Vassallo missed an open 3-pointer from the top of the key just as the buzzer sounded.