The Associated Press
Maryland's Drew Nicholas (12), Chris Wilcox and Ryan Randle (right) congratulate each other on Saturday.

Maryland holds off Kansas' late charge

MIKE LOPRESTI GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

ATLANTA -- This was Maryland with all its ferocity showing.

From the 33 points of inexorable guard Juan Dixon, to the frantic pace that never took a breath, to the big lead that was so brilliantly built and then nearly given away.

And now, after a boffo show in the Final Four, deliverance may be at hand for Gary Williams and his alma mater, a coach and a school who have chased a national championship for so long.

The Terrapins closed in on their first title Saturday night, holding off Kansas, 97-88 in a dogfight of top seeds.

It turned into a nervous night at that, when a 20-point lead with six minutes left shrank to five with two minutes to go. But Maryland had enough free throws left, enough plays, enough of a cushion -- and the memories of last year's blown 22-point lead against Duke in the Final Four.

"I've been saying ... if we ever got in that position again," Dixon said, "we were going to find a way to pull it out."

"The one thing we have as a team this year," Williams said, "is courage."

"I think they're hungry," Kansas' Drew Gooden said of the Terrapins. "And they've got their eyes on the prize."

After 35 games, 31 of them victories, the final hurdle is Indiana on Monday night.

But the opportunity comes with a warning label: The last five teams to win a No. 1 vs. No. 1 national semifinal promptly lost to a lower-seeded underdog Monday night. Indiana has spent the tournament upsetting other teams' expectations. For the Terrapins, the work is hardly done, no matter how mighty they looked Saturday.

And yet it is now close enough to touch for Williams, in his 24th season of coaching.

"Garyland," the billboard and shirts proclaim here this weekend.

Garyland Saturday night spotted the Jayhawks an early 11-point lead, and then attacked on all fronts, in what turned out to be the highest scoring Final Four Game in 15 years, since Indiana beat UNLV 97-93.

A Kansas team that outrebounded Oregon 63-34 last week was fought to nearly even, 44-40.

A Jayhawks attack that led the nation with 91 points a game was outgunned and outrun.

"We don't mind," Dixon had said the day before, "getting in a track meet."

Maryland took control early in the second half with an 18-5 blitz that included seven different Terrapins scoring.

"It was during a stretch there that everything we tried didn't work," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "And everything they tried did."

With 6:10 left, the score was a shocking 83-63.

But as Gary Williams said, "No one beats Kansas by 20. It's just not going to happen."

Kansas made a late run with a flurry of 3-pointers and free throws, and Maryland courting disaster with shots taken too quickly and foul trouble.

The game finished with center Lonny Baxter fouled out -- the MVP of the East Regional scored but four points -- and three more Terrapins with four fouls each.

The Jayhawks were down only 87-82 and had the ball, but an Aaron Miles travel with 1:46 remaining may have been the night's costliest turnover.

Dixon followed with a baseline jumper, one of his many vital plays.

Later, with Maryland's lead down to four with 20 seconds to go, Kansas was hit with a technical for calling an extra timeout. No historic comeback this night.

"I was about as proud of my team as I've ever been in my life," said Roy Williams, his own pursuit of a title cut short again.

A Maryland key was a 22-12 advantage in bench points. Nick Collison's 21 points led Kansas.

The sterling night could not have started worse for Maryland. Four minutes into the game, the Terrapins were down 13-2 with Baxter on the bench after two early fouls.

The Maryland resurgence began with a timeout, and Gary Williams raging at his team.

"Basically he just said, 'We need to play. We've been in this position before,' " Dixon said. "Guys probably got a little tensed up. That's why we had the start we had."

But by the 7:20 mark of the first half, they had taken a 26-25 lead on Dixon's 3-pointer.

By halftime, they were ahead 44-37. Dixon already had 19 points. Maryland stayed nearly even on the boards the first half with Kansas, despite only three minutes from Baxter, its leading rebounder.

These were bad omens for Kansas. Not nearly as bad as the look in the Terrapins' eyes in the second half. One game to go, and now they seem to smell it.

Monday's title game

- 6 p.m.: Indiana (25-11) vs. Maryland (31-4).

- TV: CBS-7.

On the Web:

- NCAA Brackets

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