Terps barely outlast Tigers, 79-77

With just one second left on the clock Saturday, Clemson guard Demontez Stitt threw a prayer toward the basket. As the ball clanked off the backboard — just off target — the Terrapin men's basketball team, and many of the 17,950 in attendance, breathed a sigh of relief.

It took the full 40 minutes of action for the Terps to finally shake off Clemson, but Stitt's errant half-court shot cemented a much-needed 79-77 victory and halted the team's two-game slide.

"I thought it was going in," forward Jordan Williams said. "Anytime he throws the ball up, it looks like it's going in. My heart dropped. We fought so hard that whole game, for it to go that way, it would've been tough. But thank God he missed it."

"Demontez took a decent shot," Clemson coach Brad Brownell added. "It just didn't make it in."

Despite leading for more than 32 minutes, the Terps couldn't pull away from the Tigers, who came within one point with just seconds remaining in the contest.

But thanks to clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch, the Terps (12-7, 2-3 ACC) left Comcast Center with their first home ACC victory of the season after suffering their worst-ever loss inside the venue just two days earlier against Virginia Tech.

The Terps have struggled with free-throw shooting this season, but they went 13-for-18 from the charity stripe in the second half to close out the game against the Tigers (13-6, 2-3).

"I'm very pleased with the foul shooting down the stretch," coach Gary Williams said. "We stepped up when we had to and made big free throws. It was great to see."

Four players — Jordan Williams and guards Adrian Bowie, Terrell Stoglin and Cliff Tucker — scored in double digits for the Terps, who used a balanced attack to produce one of their most efficient offensive games of the season.

The Terps also had a good day from beyond the arc, hitting eight of 14 shots from 3-point range. Tucker and Stoglin each made three 3-pointers.

"The main thing was to get the ball inside," Tucker said. "They were double-teaming Dino [Gregory] and Jordan, who made some great passes outside. Fortunately, we were just hitting our shots today. We were shooting with confidence."

Williams (16 points, 11 rebounds) recorded his 13th consecutive double-double, breaking Len Elmore's program record of 12 straight set in 1973-74.

"I never came in expecting to get a record my sophomore year, or at all," Williams said. "I just want to do whatever I can to help us get the win with that record. It's a great honor to be in the same category as Len Elmore."

After a crushing 74-57 loss to the Hokies 40 hours earlier, the Terps came out with a swagger against the Tigers on Saturday.

At a team meeting Friday, the Terps' three seniors spoke to the younger players, saying they were at a "crossroads" in their season.

"Me, Dino and Cliff went to the NIT our freshman year," Bowie said. "We spoke on the experience of being there and how we never want to be there ever again. This was a big game for us, and hopefully it's a stepping stone."

The team heeded the seniors' message, finally finishing out a close game. Before Saturday's contest, the Terps had fallen in six single-digit losses by a combined 35 points.

"We finally got a win in the clutch," Tucker said. "So hopefully we know how to win games in the crunch time and can keep it going."

TERP NOTE: Forward Haukur Palsson got his first career start against Clemson, while guard Sean Mosley came off the bench for the first time in 40 games. It was the second straight and fifth overall game this season that the Terps have changed their starting five.

jengelke@umdbk.com