College basketball

Champs earn win at wire

Drew Nicholas' desperation 3-pointer stuns UNC-Wilmington.

Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 22, 2003

NASHVILLE -- Maryland isn't ready to give up its national championship just yet.

Drew Nicholas made a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Terrapins a 75-73 victory against North Carolina-Wilmington on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Aaron Coombs, a 47 percent free-throw shooter, made two with five seconds left to give the Seahawks, seeded No. 11 in the South, a 73-72 lead and a chance to pull off a tournament surprise for the second year in a row.

But Nicholas took the inbound pass, dribbled nearly the length of the court and launched a fall-away 3 off his back foot with Anthony Terrell in his face.

The ball swished through as the horn sounded, helping No. 6 seed Maryland avoid becoming the first defending champion since UCLA in 1996 to lose in the first round.

After Nicholas' shot, several Terps raced off the court in delirium while Seahawks coach Brad Brownell collapsed to the floor.

The officials called everyone back to look at the video replay. But it showed Nicholas got the shot off with a half-second left.

The Terrapins got to celebrate again when the basket was ruled good. But this time, it was more subdued, with both teams gathering in front of the scorer's table to shake hands.

UNC-Wilmington's John Goldsberry set a tournament record by going 8-of-8 on 3-pointers, finishing with a career-high 26 points. Last year, UNC-Wilmington beat No. 4 seed Southern California 93-89 in overtime.

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