Maryland Falls to Florida State

Second-year Florida State Coach Leonard Hamilton may have found his answer for winning in the Atlantic Coast Conference -- freshmen Alexander Johnson and Von Wafer.

Johnson and Wafer took charge during a 16-2 second-half run Sunday, and Florida State bounced back from its only loss with a 79-75 victory over No. 24-ranked Maryland at Tallahassee, Fla.

Johnson’s ferocious dunk gave the Seminoles a 57-56 lead with 8:48 remaining.

“That was a huge play,� Hamilton said. “It gave our team a lift and excited the crowd, and our team seemed to feed off that.�

Johnson’s dunk impressed his teammates as well.

“I though the goal was going to break, he’s so strong,� said Tim Pickett, who fed Johnson for the dunk.

Moments later, Wafer made a three-point basket and Florida State built a 65-58 lead during a spurt that wiped out a five-point deficit early in the half.

Johnson, 6 feet 10 and 245 pounds, led Florida State with 14 points, and Wafer scored 11.

“They’re learning what it’s like to play at this level,� Hamilton said.

Florida State (11-1, 1-0 in the ACC) ended a five-game losing streak against Maryland dating to the 1999-2000 season.

The Terrapins (7-3, 0-1) shot 44% (29 for 66) from the field, but shot poorly from the free-throw line, especially in the second half, when they were five for 11.

Nik Caner-Medley, John Gilchrist and Chris McCray each scored 15 points for Maryland, also hurt by an early deficit.

“When you get down 18-4, you’re going to lose something to get back,� Coach Gary Williams said.

No. 1 Connecticut 101, Ball State 62 -- Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon each scored 25 points for the Huskies (9-1) at Hartford, Conn.

Okafor had 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double this season and the 34th in his three seasons at Connecticut.

Cameron Echols scored 22 points for the Cardinals (3-5), who have lost four in a row.

No. 5 Arizona 107, Liberty 91 -- Sophomore Andre Iguodala had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple-double this season, and only the eighth in school history, to lead the Wildcats (7-1) in the first round of the Fiesta Bowl Classic at Tucson.

Reserve David Dees had 18 points to lead Liberty (3-8), which trailed by at least 30 points most of the second half.

No. 6 Stanford 100, Harvard 59 -- Matt Haryasz scored 16 points to set a career high for the second consecutive game, and the host Cardinal (9-0) turned the game into a rout with a 21-3 spurt early in the second half.

Haryasz, a 6-10 reserve sophomore forward who scored 15 points against Southern Utah on Monday, left with 8:30 remaining because of a cut next to his right eye after being elbowed in a crowd under the basket.

Harvard leading scorer Kevin Rogus had 22 points for the Crimson (0-11), which has lost 13 in a row dating to last season.

No. 9 North Carolina 71, North Carolina Wilmington 54 -- Melvin Scott scored 19 points and overshadowed teammate Raymond Felton’s homecoming.

Felton, a sophomore with the Tar Heels (7-1), won two state titles at Latta High, about an hour’s drive from the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Convention Center, where the game was played.

Scott and Felton, who finished with 13 points, put North Carolina Wilmington (4-4) away at the start of the second half with a 12-5 run.

No. 15 Gonzaga 96, Washington State 58 -- Cory Violette scored a career-high 31 points, and Gonzaga shot 70.8% from the field at Spokane, Wash.

It was the second-best shooting performance by Gonzaga.

Ronny Turiaf scored 19 points and Adam Morrison had 17 for the Bulldogs (8-2), who were coming off a loss to No. 6 Stanford.

The 38-point victory was Gonzaga’s largest in the 96-year history of the series.

Thomas Kelati led Washington State (6-4) with 15 points,

No. 17 Syracuse 81, North Carolina Asheville 63 -- Hakim Warrick scored 18 points, and Billy Edelin had 11 points and a career-high 11 assists to help host Syracuse (7-1) win its seventh in a row.

North Carolina-Asheville (2-8) has lost six of seven.