Williams leads Maryland past Clemson 79-77
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jordan Williams set a school record with his 13th consecutive double-double, getting 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead Maryland over Clemson 79-77 on Saturday.
Williams surpassed the mark held by Len Elmore, who had 12 straight double-doubles for the Terrapins in 1974. Williams, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, has reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding in 17 of 19 games this season.
Cliff Tucker scored 15 for Maryland, and Adrian Bowie and Terrell Stoglin each had 13. Playing their second game in three days, the Terrapins (12-7, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) never trailed after an early 21-3 run made it 26-13.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Demontez Stitt led Clemson (13-6, 2-3) with 20 points, Jerai Grant had 15 and Andre Young added 14. The Tigers have lost two in a row following an eight-game winning streak.
After a 3-pointer by Stitt got Clemson to 76-75 with 14.7 seconds to go, Sean Mosley made two foul shots for the Terrapins. The Tigers then inexplicably went inside and got a dunk from Devin Booker with 2.1 seconds remaining, and Tucker sank one of two at the line for the final margin.
A final shot by Stitt from around midcourt banged off the backboard.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Clemson played without forward Tanner Smith, who sprained his knee in Tuesday night's loss at North Carolina. Smith was replaced by 6-foot-6 junior Bryan Narclisse, who fouled out after scoring four points in his third career start.
Maryland led 49-41 and 54-46 early in the second half but couldn't pull away.
It was 66-60 before Young hit a 3-pointer. Tucker struck from behind the arc for Maryland, and after Stitt sank a 3-pointer, Williams made two free throws to make it 71-66 with 1:49 left.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The victory enabled Maryland to avoid a third straight ACC home loss for the first time since 1993. The Terrapins were coming off a humbling 74-57 defeat against Virginia Tech, their worst home defeat in 12 years.
Maryland went 24 for 48 from the floor, the first team to shoot 50 percent against Clemson this season.
Terps coach Gary Williams used his fifth different starting lineup this season, calling upon freshman forward Haukur Palsson to make his first college start. Mosley, a junior, came off the bench for the first time since his freshman year and finished with nine points.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Terrapins went 6 for 11 from 3-point range in taking a 40-36 halftime lead.
Maryland missed seven of its first eight shots and trailed 10-5 before Bowie made a driving layup to ignite an 8-1 run. After a basket by Stitt made it 13-all, the Terrapins peeled off 13 straight points, including successive 3-pointers by Mosley, Stoglin and Tucker.
The Tigers closed to 35-29 before Palsson connected from beyond the arc and Williams scored off a pass from Tucker to put Maryland up by 11, but the Terps were held scoreless over the final 3:47 of the half.