In late show, Eagles are early to rise

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Boston College assistant coach Ed Cooley stood near a holding area in the bowels of Greensboro Coliseum as the Eagles prepared to take the court for last night's grudge rematch against sixth-seeded Maryland in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

After BC absorbed a 73-71 loss at Maryland in its conference debut, Cooley was asked if it was going to be different this time around.

''This time, we're hoopin'," Cooley said with a stone-cold expression. ''We're coming to hoop tonight."

True to Cooley's pregame vow, the third-seeded and 11th-ranked Eagles came to hoop indeed and left little doubt about their motivation after last night's 80-66 romp over Maryland, earning as much redemption as revenge by winning their first ACC Tournament contest against a team that sent the Eagles tail-spinning to an 0-3 start in league play.

''Redemption is a much better word for us," said BC coach Al Skinner. ''You don't want to get revenge as much as you want to try and balance things out."

BC did little to hide its desire to face Maryland in the quarters. The Eagles got their wish after the Terrapins advanced with an 82-64 rout of the Yellow Jackets Thursday night.

And so from the moment Craig Smith, who led the Eagles with a team-high 21 points, a team-high 15 rebounds, and a team-high 7 assists, tallied BC's first points on a pair of foul shots, it was game on.

''And we handed it to them," said Smith, who combined with Jared Dudley (18 points, six rebounds) to lead the Eagles (25-6) to a semifinal matchup against second-seeded North Carolina (22-6) today at 4 p.m. ''Bottom line is that we wanted them back to get revenge for the game we could've won down there at Maryland. We got our opportunity and we didn't let nobody down."

Freshman guard Tyrese Rice came off BC's bench (which outscored Maryland's, 23-19) to chip in 19 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including 2 of 4 from the 3-point arc and 9 of 10 from the foul line, and junior guard Sean Marshall added 14 points (on 6-for-8 shooting) and four rebounds.

''Actually, when Sean Marshall's in double figures, we're dangerous," Smith said. ''When we have four players in double figures, I don't see anybody beating us."

Last night, not even a wardrobe change for the Terrapins, who donned black uniforms for the first time this season, prevented BC from turning it into rout early on. The Eagles stormed to an early 17-2 run that left Maryland coach Gary Williams unhinged when he ripped his sports coat off and threw it in anger at his bench during a media timeout with 14:49 to go.

''It's one thing when a team can take some things away from you because they're good, and BC will take some things away from most teams," said Williams, whose team (19-12) will likely have to sweat out Selection Sunday for an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. ''But we really didn't give ourselves a chance to see if we could be in a competitive situation in the first half."

The Eagles led by 21 (27-6) in the first half en route to a commanding 41-22 halftime lead as the Terrapins (23 of 66 overall from the field) were held to a season-low, first-half output on 7-for-29 shooting, another season low.

Maryland went 4:28 between its first two baskets -- a dunk by Dorchester native Mike Jones (11 points) and a jumper by Portland, Maine, native Nik Caner-Medley (6 points) -- which enabled BC to establish its dominance early.

After Akida McLain gave BC a 27-6 lead, the Eagles went the next 5:56 without a field goal, and Maryland could get no closer than 16 (28-12). After Jones made a jumper and D.J. Strawberry added a pair of foul shots to cut BC's lead to 16, Rice buried a wide-open look on the perimeter to make it 34-16.

James Gist (14 points) scored on a foul-inducing basket (courtesy of Marshall's first personal) to cut BC's lead to 15, then came up with a huge block on a Marshall attempt at a breakaway dunk. Gist committed a turnover on Maryland's ensuing transition attempt, which led to a Rice trey that increased BC's lead to 37-19.

Sean Williams, who entered the game with 8:07 remaining, made his presence felt with a pair of impressive blocked shots. In one instance, he pinned Ekene Ibekwe's layup against the glass. Smith then made his presence felt, picking off a lazy backcourt pass and going coast-to-coast on a breakaway dunk that made it a 20-point game, 39-19.

Free throws by Ibekwe and Parrish Brown helped Maryland pull within 17, but Smith threw down another dunk that gave BC a 19-point lead at the half.

''We wanted to go out there and let them know that, hey, the first time was a fluke and you all beat us by 2 and so we'll give you that," Smith said. ''But you're not beating us tonight. Good luck to you Sunday. Now it's on to the semis."