By David Ginsburg
Associated Press
COLLEGE PARK, Md. ó Greivis Vasquez did something no Maryland player had done since 1987, and the Terrapins pulled off an upset that was almost as remarkable.
Vasquez had a career-high 35 points and 11 rebounds and 10 assists ó Maryland’s first triple-double in 22 years ó and the Terrapins rallied from a 16-point deficit to shock No. 3 North Carolina 88-85 in overtime Saturday, ending the Tar Heels’ 10-game winning streak.
“I just have no words to describe this feeling right now,” Vasquez said. “It was an unbelievable game. I’ve played big-time games at Maryland, but I put that game on the top.”
Vasquez, a junior guard, was sensational early and late. He scored Maryland’s first 16 points, and in overtime hit a pivotal 3-pointer with 1:15 left and made two free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining to put the Terrapins up by three.
After North Carolina’s Ty Lawson lost the ball while heading toward the basket just before the buzzer, many of the 17,950 fans stormed the court to celebrate the unlikely upset.
At the center of the celebration was Maryland coach Gary Williams, who came under fire earlier this season after the Terrapins slipped under .500 in the Atlantic Coast Conference after losing to Duke by 41 points and North Carolina by 17.
“Every Maryland fan should be grateful because that man right there can coach,” Vasquez said.
Even North Carolina coach Roy Williams offered words of praise for his counterpart, saying, “The best team won today. The stronger team, the tougher team, the better-coached team. Sorry to be so blunt, but that’s the way it was.”
The triple-double by Vasquez was the first for Maryland (17-9, 6-6) since Derrick Lewis did it twice in 1987.
“Greivis had a heck of a game,” North Carolina guard Wayne Ellington said. “He made shots and got his team going. On the other hand, we were flat out there. We were being selfish and weren’t playing as a team.”
The evidence: North Carolina finished with five assists.
Lawson led the Tar Heels (24-3, 10-3) with 24 points, Danny Green had 18 and Tyler Hansbrough had 11 points and 11 rebounds. But North Carolina got only five points from its bench, compared to 41 by Maryland.
Cliff Tucker contributed a career-high 22 points to that total on 8-for-12 shooting.
“Before the game, Coach wrote on the board, ‘Someone nobody knows needs to step up tonight,”‘ Tucker said. “I just got it in my mind tthat I wanted to be that guy.”
After Green scored the first basket in overtime, Tucker made a layup and Vasquez nailed a 3-pointer to give the Terrapins their first lead since 18-17. Lawson tied it with a 3-pointer, but Vasquez put Maryland back in front by coolly making a shot from beyond the arc.
Lawson answered with two free throws, and the Terrapins played keep-away until Eric Hayes was fouled with 11.3 seconds to go. Hayes made both shots, and after Wayne Ellington made two foul shots for the Tar Heels, Vasquez was fouled and made his two at the line.
Down 52-36 with 14:17 left, the Terrapins launched their comeback behind Tucker and Hayes. Each made a 3-pointer in a 12-2 spurt that cut the gap to six, and after the Tar Heels went ahead 62-55, Hayes made two foul shots and Tucker scored on a drive and added a 3-pointer to get Maryland within 64-62.
Lawson then hit a jumper, Ellington added a free throw, Lawson connected from long range and Hansbrough capped the 8-0 run with a layup.
But it wasn’t enough. North Carolina led 76-70 before Vasquez scored with 1:24 to go, Hayes made a layup with 1:05 remaining and a layup by Vasquez with 8 seconds left forced the overtime.
Deon Thompson scored 11 points, and North Carolina limited the Terrapins to 32 percent shooting in taking a 39-30 halftime lead.
After the Tar Heels went up 6-0, Vasquez’s opening flurry got the Terrapins to 17-16. Then, after Landon Milbourne blocked a shot by Hansbrough, Adrian Bowie made two free throws to give Maryland its first lead.
But the Terrapins went cold, going exactly 8 minutes without a field goal while missing 10 straight shots from field. During that time, Ellington made two baskets in a 10-0 run that put North Carolina ahead 27-18.