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McClinton shoots Miami past Maryland in ACC upset

Mar 9, 2007 - 6:35 AM TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Maryland emerged as the giant-killer in the Atlantic Coast Conference over the past few weeks. Perhaps the Terrapins overlooked also-ran Miami.

Jack McClinton scored 17 points as Miami held on for a 67-62 upset of 20th-ranked Maryland in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

The Terrapins (24-8) closed out the regular season on a seven-game winning streak with a pair of victories over Duke and an upset of North Carolina.

But Maryland got off to a slow start Thursday and trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half.

Playing in front of a largely partisan crowd, the Hurricanes (12-19) reeled off a 14-4 run midway through the first half and built a 37-24 lead at the break. McClinton netted seven points during the pivotal surge.

Dwayne Collins had 12 points and 12 rebounds for 12th-seeded Miami, which will play fourth-seeded Boston College in Friday's quarterfinals.

A pair of former Big East squads, the Hurricanes have lost their last 11 meetings with the Eagles, including a pair by a combined 26 points.

Brian Asbury scored 12 points and Jimmy Graham added nine, seven rebounds and five blocks for the Hurricanes, who finished with a 42-34 advantage on the boards and rejected seven shots.

Beating Maryland for the second time this season, Miami improved to 4-3 against ranked opponents.

Mike Jones scored 15 points to pace the fifth-seeded Terrapins, who shot 39 percent (22-of-57) from the field, including 3-of-18 on 3-pointers.

D.J. Strawberry finished with 13 points and James Gist added 12 and eight rebounds for Maryland, which was doomed by an inability to control its defensive glass, getting outclassed in second-chance points, 23-8.