Tigers Lose Nailbiter to No. 4 Maryland

January 24, 1999

CLEMSON, S.C. – Terence Morris tied the score with a short follow, then hit a baseline jumper with 14.4 seconds left in overtime, giving No. 4 Maryland an 81-79 victory over Clemson Sunday.

Morris, a sophomore, tied his career high with 26 points, but the most important points came in the final minutes. He converted Terrell Stokes’ 3-point miss to tie it at 79, then hit the winning winning jump shot for Maryland (18-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Terrell McIntyre led Clemson with 25 points, but missed a 3-pointer and was stuffed on a drive after Morris’ game-winner.

Clemson (12-8, 1-6) has lost seven of eight.

Steve Francis gave Maryland the lead in the final minutes with a key steal and four free throws, the last two putting the Terps up 70-68 with 2:07 left.

But all they managed the rest of regulation was Laron Profit’s foul shot, and Clemson forced overtime on Andrius Jurkunas’ fifth 3-pointer with 14.2 seconds left.

Profit’s long 3-pointer in the closing seconds bounced off the back rim.

The Tigers looked like they might pull off an upset, after McIntyre canned a 30-footer to go up 79-77 wtih 2:26 remaining in overtime.

Morris kept Maryland in it early with 15 points in the first half. But he was mostly quiet after the break.

Francis’ 3-pointer tied the score at 53, then Profit gave Maryland its first lead since early in the game.

There were five ties and five lead changes in the final 11 minutes of regulation.

The Terps shot more than 60 percent (14-of-23), committed only seven turnovers, had Francis pull off two highlight film plays and still trailed 38-36 at halftime.

Maryland had lost 9 of its previous 10 games at Clemson.

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer