COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Florida State had let a 12-point lead
dwindle to one, and Delvon Arrington was getting that sinking
feeling again.
|  | | Florida State's Monte Cummings, left, picks Byron Mouton's pocket. |
"I got scared. We always seem to let leads go," he said.
Not this time. Led by Arrington, the Seminoles withstood a
furious comeback bid by Maryland (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) for a stunning 74-71
victory Wednesday night.
The Seminoles had lost nine straight to Maryland and began the
game in last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but they never
trailed after taking a 4-3 lead.
Florida State (7-17, 2-9) led by 12 early in the second half,
yet Maryland had several chances to tie or take the lead in the
closing minutes. After two foul shots by the Seminoles' Antwuan
Dixon made it 74-71 with 16 seconds left, Maryland (15-9, 6-6)
missed two 3-pointers before the buzzer sounded.
"I was just so relieved," said Arrington, who scored 17
points. "I've never won a game at Maryland. I'm at a loss for
words."
The Seminoles in recent games had lost to North Carolina State
in overtime, faded in a nine-point defeat at Georgia Tech and
rallied before losing to Wake Forest 71-65.
"This time we did it for 40 minutes. Not 25, not 30, like we
usually do," Arrington said.
Dixon scored 14 for Florida State and Adrian Crawford had 11.
"We played close in a number of games this year. It seemed in
those games we were never able to make the play when it mattered
the most," Seminoles coach Steve Robinson said. "Tonight was one
of those nights where we got it. We got it."
Juan Dixon scored 14 points for the Terrapins, but missed eight
of 11 shots and had six turnovers. Freshman forward Chris Wilcox,
making his first college start, scored 13 points on 6-for-7
shooting.
The Terrapins have lost five of six, the lone win in that span
against last-place Clemson. The tumble began with an overtime loss
to Duke in which Maryland blew a 10-point lead in the final 54
seconds of regulation.
"You have to look at the Duke game. From there we haven't been
able to get it back," coach Gary Williams said. "We were playing
great, and we lost the game. We haven't been able to pull out of
that."
Antwuan Dixon opened the second half with a three-point play to
put Florida State ahead 36-24. Wilcox then made three straight
baskets, and minutes later his layup off a steal cut the margin to
three points.
Crawford responded with a three-point play to start an 11-4
spurt that made it 53-43 with 10:18 left. The lead dwindled to four
before the Seminoles' Mike Mathews temporarily stalled the comeback
with a dunk and a foul shot.
Maryland's hopes dimmed when center Lonny Baxter fouled out with
5:22 left and the Seminoles up 64-59. But the Terrapins scored
their next six points at the line to close to 66-65.
Florida State was up for the challenge.
FSU took control early as Arrington scored seven straight points
in a 12-2 run that made it 14-5 with less than six minutes elapsed.
After a timeout, Williams pulled all his starters except for
Wilcox.
The move did not pay off. After Byron Mouton hit a 3-pointer,
the Terrapins went cold and trailed 19-8 before Williams used
another timeout and went back to his original lineup.
That didn't work either, and many in the crowd booed after the
Seminoles took advantage of Maryland's sloppy play to go up 25-14.
At that point, the Terrapins had nine turnovers and missed 16 of 22
shots.
"We didn't lose the game in the second half. We lost the game
in the first half," Williams said. "We let Florida State get out
to the lead and gain confidence. We weren't able to come out with
the intensity level to match theirs."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Florida State Clubhouse
Maryland Clubhouse
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