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ATLANTA (AP) -- It couldn't happen again. It almost happened
again. Juan Dixon wouldn't let it happen again.
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The Terrapins ran into a big-time gutcheck before finally moving on to their
first national championship game.
What a gutty comeback by the Jayhawks. Roy Williams' team wouldn't go down
without a fight. The Jayhawks were down 83-63 with 6:10 to go, but they went
on a 19-4 run to put Kansas within five. Jeff Boschee hit two big-time
trifectas, the last one with 27.3 seconds left.
But in the end Maryland was clutch from the free-throw line. The Terps hit
eight of their final nine foul shots to hold off a super basketball team and
secure their spot in Monday's national championship game. More..
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With its All-American guard leading the way, Maryland reached
the national championship game for the first time with a 97-88
victory over Kansas on Saturday night.
Last season the Terrapins lost a 22-point lead to Duke in its
first Final Four appearance. This time, Maryland blew almost all of
a 20-point lead, but made sure there was enough left to win the
matchup of No. 1 seeds.
"I've been saying the whole week that if we ever got in that
position again -- when we were up 22 points -- we were going to find
a way to pull the game out. We did," Dixon said. "It's just our
experience. We grew a lot over the last year or so. So hopefully
we'll go out there and get one more."
Dixon hit a baseline jumper with 1:14 to play, putting Maryland
ahead 89-82 after Kansas cut the lead to five. The Jayhawks still
weren't done and neither was Dixon, who finished with 33 points.
Kansas hit two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds. After the
first, Dixon made two free throws to make it 92-85. After the
second, Kansas called a timeout it didn't have and Dixon made one
of two free throws on the technical to make it 93-88 with 19
seconds left. That was as close as the Jayhawks would get.
"It was a strange feeling. When the buzzer went off we were
playing for the championship," coach Gary Williams said.
Nick Collison, who led Kansas with 21 points and 10 rebounds,
called Dixon a great player.
"Dixon seemed to step up after they struggled a bit. He made
two or three that were backbreakers," Collison said.
Maryland (31-4) will play Indiana for the national championship
on Monday night. The fifth-seeded Hoosiers (25-11) advanced with a
73-64 victory over second-seeded Oklahoma.
"I just know, reading about them, seeing them play during the
year, how tough they are, how driven they are this year," Williams
said, referring to Indiana. "They seem to be on a mission. I think
they had a lot of courage to play as hard as they did."
Chris Wilcox added 18 points and nine rebounds for Maryland and
Steve Blake had eight points and 11 assists.
Now Williams has a chance at his national championship and the
Terrapins have an opportunity to erase last season's nightmare.
Many of the players said this week they had still not gotten over
the 95-84 loss to Duke, which went on to win the title in
Minneapolis.
"I don't think I'll forget last year until we finally win a
national championship," Maryland center Lonny Baxter said.
"That's what the goal was after that game last year. We've been
shooting for it all year and we plan to Monday night."
Williams, who once played for Maryland, celebrated the win with
a chest bump with Wilcox.
"This team has never gone away in any tough situation,"
Williams said. "We've gotten beat but teams have really had to
make a great effort to get us."
All-American forward Drew Gooden finished with 15 points on
5-for-12 shooting and had nine rebounds for Kansas, which won 20 of
its last 22 games.
Things were far from perfect at the start for Maryland, as
Kansas (33-4) jumped to a 13-2 lead inside the opening four
minutes. Rallying in the first half seemed to fit the Terrapins
much better than holding a big lead did a year ago.
Even though Baxter was limited to three minutes in the first
half due to foul trouble, Maryland got back in it behind Dixon, the
Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year who finished the first
half with 19 points.
|  | | Maryland's Juan Dixon, right, and Steve Blake know they're a step closer to a possible NCAA title. |
The Terrapins went up 44-37 at halftime and Kansas, despite
getting in serious foul trouble of its own, was able to stay within
striking distance.
Jeff Boschee's 3-pointer with 12:08 to play had the Jayhawks
within 60-55. The Terrapins then went on a 10-0 run, the last five
points coming from Holden, and it was 70-55 with 10:08 left.
The Terps, who have won 18 of 19, went up by as many as 20
points, 83-63 on a 3 by Dixon with 6:04 to play.
Kansas, which was in the Final Four for the first time since
1993, made it exciting with the late run, but coach Roy Williams
will again have to wait at least one more season for his first
national championship.
"We made some mistakes, we missed some shots and all of a
sudden it was an 18-point lead," Roy Williams said. "And then I
was as proud of this team as any I've had. We couldn't get over the
hump. Juan Dixon was sensational.
"A lot of times a lot of guys make fun of me this time of year
because I'm crying, but I'm right (to cry) because these kids mean
something to me. God, I enjoyed this year. I'm sad I'm not going to
get to coach them again. Not playing again on Monday night doesn't
hurt one iota for Roy Williams or his record, just that I won't get
to coach them in a championship game."
Boschee, who finished 5-for-13 from 3-point range and had 17
points, got the Jayhawks within five points for the first time with
a 3 with 2:04 left, making it 87-82.
After Dixon's big shot from the baseline and one free throw from
Blake, Boschee made it 90-85 with his last 3 with 27 seconds to
play.
Gooden's 3-pointer made it 92-88 with 19 seconds left, but some
of the Kansas players signaled for a timeout when the ball went
through. It may not have been as dramatic as when Chris Webber made
the same mistake for Michigan against North Carolina in the 1993
championship game, but it cost the Jayhawks dearly.
Dixon made the one free throw on the technical and Byron Mouton
added two on the ensuing possession. Drew Nicholas capped the
scoring with two free throws with .1 seconds left.
The game provided the expected offense. Kansas came in leading
the nation at 91 points per game and Maryland was a couple of spots
behind at 85.3.
Dixon also provided what he has throughout the tournament for
the Terrapins, scoring at least 27 points for the fourth time in
five games.
Looking ahead to playing Indiana, he said: "It will be a tough
game. This is our year, and hopefully we come ready Monday night."
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