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Ibekwe leads Maryland past Winthrop

Nov 21, 2006 - 3:04 AM COLLEGE PARK, Maryland (Ticker) -- Ekene Ibekwe and Maryland were not about to overlook Winthrop.

Ibekwe scored 18 points as the 24th-ranked Terrapins cruised to a 71-60 victory over Winthrop.

After routing St. John's and beating Michigan State last week at Madison Square Garden in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, Maryland entered the rankings for the first time earlier Monday.

Ibekwe made sure the Terrapins' foray into the rankings was a smooth one as he scored 10 points in the first half, which ended with Maryland holding a 42-26 cushion.

Ibekwe made 8-of-10 shots and also grabbed eight rebounds.

Bambale Osby scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half for the Terrapins (6-0), who led by double digits the entire second half.

Thanks to Ibekwe and Osby, the Terrapins had a much easier time with the Eagles than fellow Atlantic Coast Conference team and second-ranked North Carolina had last Wednesday. The Eagles led the Tar Heels at halftime before dropping a 73-66 decision.

D.J. Strawberry added 11 points for the Terrapins, who shot 51 percent (25-of-49) from the field.

Craig Bradshaw scored 15 points and Torrell Martin added 14 for Winthrop (3-2), which shot 30 percent (20-of-66) and committed 17 turnovers.