Terrapins Defeat No. 12 Tar Heels

Terrell Stokes can shoot free throws any way he wants from now on.

Stokes, a freshman who positions himself at an angle on the line, made three free throws in the final 20.4 seconds Tuesday night, and Maryland leaped back into the Atlantic Coast Conference race by handing No. 12 North Carolina its first home loss of the season, 84-78, at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Duane Simpkins, who scored 18 points, led a decisive 12-2 second-half run that gave the Terrapins, 12-7 overall and 5-4 in the ACC, their sixth victory in seven games.

Maryland, which started 0-3 in the league, moved within 1 1/2 games of North Carolina (16-6, 7-3) and Wake Forest for the ACC lead.

The Tar Heels, who have the best home record in the ACC in the last decade, had rallied from a 17-point deficit with 6:04 left to tie the score at 78.

Shammond Williams led North Carolina’s comeback with a career-high 17 points.

No. 1 Massachusetts 73, Fordham 47--The Minutemen, led by Marcus Camby’s 26 points, shook off a sluggish first half in an Atlantic 10 game at New York.

Camby scored 19 points in the second half for Massachusetts (22-0, 10-0). The Rams (2-17, 0-10) lost to the Minutemen, 80-50, last week at Amherst, Mass.

No. 4 Connecticut 99, Providence 77--Doron Sheffer scored 22 points and Ray Allen 21 as the Huskies, winners of 21 consecutive games, cruised in a Big East game at Storrs, Conn.

Kirk King added 20 points for Connecticut (22-1, 12-0). The Friars dropped to 12-8, 5-7.

No. 11 Virginia Tech 69, Duquesne 63--The Hokies blew a 17-point second-half lead and held on for an Atlantic 10 victory at Blacksburg, Va.

Keefe Matthews and Damon Watlington scored 17 points for Virginia Tech (17-2, 9-1).

Mike James scored 28 points for Duquesne (8-11, 3-7).

OTHER GAMES

Brian Evans made all 14 of his free throws and scored 28 points to lead Indiana (14-8, 7-3) past Minnesota, 81-66, in a Big Ten game at Minneapolis. Freshman Charles Thomas scored 13 points off the bench to lead the Golden Gophers (11-10, 3-6). . . . Justin Phoenix had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Manhattan (12-10) to a 65-44 nonconference victory over Notre Dame (7-12) at New York. . . . Darryl Wilson scored 26 points as Mississippi State beat Arkansas, 78-63, in a Southeastern Conference game at Starkville, Miss. Marcus Bullard added 24 points for the Bulldogs (15-5, 7-4). Arkansas (14-7, 6-3) maintained a half-game lead in the SEC Western Division standings.