Georgia Tech

After learning yesterday that football coach Paul Johnson was leaving for Georgia Tech, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said keeping the continuity in a successful program could be a significant factor in finding Johnson's replacement. "I think it's really important to keep as much of this glued together as I possibly can," Gladchuk said. "We've got a really good program here in terms of facilities, resources, fan base, television, bowl opportunities. Five years ago, it was all of a vision.

COLLEGE PARK -- With 2:38 left to play, Maryland junior forward James Gist showed off his school-record 36-inch vertical leap and slammed in an uncontested dunk with both hands and an equally monstrous roar. It was the finale to his career-high 25-point performance on 10-for-11 shooting from the field, leading Maryland to an 80-65 win over Georgia Tech last night at Comcast Center. Gist, who was averaging 11.5 points, was his own inside-out combination last night, soaring over the Yellow Jackets for dunks and blocks, and even adding a three-pointer.

Last week it was Lewis Clinch, Georgia Tech's third-leading scorer. Yesterday, starting forward Zach Peacock was suspended. The Yellow Jackets (11-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have had some unexpected setbacks heading into tonight's 7 o'clock ESPN game against No. 11 Duke (13-2, 0-1). Clinch was suspended Friday for the rest of the season for academic reasons. Peacock, a freshman, was ejected from Saturday's 75-74 loss at Clemson. Game officials deemed his flagrant foul "an act of fighting," which results in an automatic suspension by the NCAA.

Good morning--Chris Turner--It's game day, so everyone expects to see your best against Georgia Tech.

The freshman started at first base against powerhouse Miami. Four innings into the game, heat exhaustion sapped Georgia Tech's catcher, so the kid moved behind the plate. In the top of the ninth, he hit a two-run homer to put the Yellow Jackets ahead. And finally, holding that one-run advantage, he stripped his gear, moved to the mound and earned the save. Faced with this preposterous display of all-around excellence, Matt Wieters' teammates handed him a nickname: God. He could probably walk on water, too, they figured.

The Atlantic Coast Conference acknowledged yesterday that the Duke football program violated league policy last week by providing Rutgers - the Terps' opponent this past Saturday - with film of Maryland's Sept. 22 game against Wake Forest. Maryland lodged an oral complaint with the league Sunday, though Duke is unlikely to face punishment. Georgia Tech @Maryland Saturday, noon, Ch. 13, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Georgia Tech by 2 1/2

ATLANTA -- If Georgia Tech is interested in making Paul Johnson its next football coach, it might have to convince the Navy coach that the opportunity in Atlanta is better than openings at Duke and Southern Methodist. Johnson, who has had talks with SMU and Duke this week, might be the top outside candidate on Georgia Tech's list. Johnson was believed to be interviewing with Georgia Tech officials yesterday. There were indications that the interest Johnson has received from other schools could force Georgia Tech to make a quick decision on a possible offer.

For Maryland, it's the game of the 1998-99 college basketball season, Part III.The Dec. 6 win over Stanford at the MCI Center was big. So was the Dec. 12 loss at Kentucky. Now, for the third time this season, a Final Four atmosphere will surround fourth-ranked Maryland as second-ranked Duke comes to Cole Field House on Sunday.For a Maryland team with high aspirations, how the Terps respond against the Blue Devils will be a measuring stick."Duke's coming in and they have a lot of firepower," said Maryland forward Laron Profit.

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland was as sloppy as it has been all season last night, but it is also one win away from its best basketball start ever.The sluggish Terps held Georgia Tech to one basket over a telling eight-minute stretch and beat the Yellow Jackets, 77-62, before a sellout crowd of 14,500 at Cole Field House. Coach Gary Williams' 10th team improved to 5-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 17-2 overall.The Terps trailed with less than nine minutes left, but the Yellow Jackets fell apart down the stretch while Maryland converted enough chances to escape an upset.

The Navy football team's new defensive scheme has been returning dividends this spring, boding well for a rebound from last season's 3-8 nose dive."I've been impressed with the defense not giving up the big play," said coach Charlie Weatherbie. "They've done a great job of making you go the hard way."In the second scrimmage last week, the defense limited the top two offensive units to 196 yards in 63 plays (3.1 yards a snap) and enters Saturday's noontime Blue-Gold game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with a ton of momentum.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Before the Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball preseason votes were released last year, Maryland's Greivis Vasquez already had a good idea how it was going to turn out. With everything North Carolina had returning, there wasn't much suspense in the process. This year, Vasquez wasn't sure how the predicted order-of-finish voting was going to shake out. He wasn't alone. Duke and North Carolina were the top vote recipients at Sunday's preseason media gathering in Greensboro, N.C., as the teams finished tied for first place.

Maryland punter Travis Baltz and linebacker Alex Wujciak were among 24 players named to the 2009 Preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference team. News media members attending the ACC Football Kickoff on Sunday and Monday participated in the voting. Baltz, a two-year starter, was a first-team All-ACC selection last season after leading the league in punting average (41.1 yards). The junior was a consensus all-conference choice in the preseason publications and a second-team preseason All-America choice by Athlon.

Lewis Clinch scored a career-high 32 points yesterday and last-place Georgia Tech (12-18) pulled off the first upset of the ACC tournament, beating No. 17 Clemson (23-8), 86-81, in the opening round yesterday in Atlanta. Virginia Tech 65, Miami 47: : The Hokies broke open a close game with a 14-0 run in the second half and beat the Hurricanes. Miami's Jack McClinton (Calvert Hall), who scored a season-low nine points, said, "I just had a bad game." Boston College 76, Virginia 63: : Rakim Sanders scored 25 points and the Eagles (22-10)

Terps women No. 5; Coleman honored col. hoops The Maryland women's basketball team rose to No. 5 in the latest Associated Press poll released yesterday, the Terrapins' highest ranking since they stood at No. 3 in the preseason. Ranked No. 9 last week, Maryland won at Georgia Tech on Thursday before routing then-No. 7 Duke, 77-59, on Sunday in College Park. The Terps (23-4, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) are a game behind first-place Florida State (23-5, 11-1) in the league standings.

ATLANTA - Lynetta Kizer can do so many things on the basketball court for the ninth-ranked Maryland women. In the first five minutes of the Terrapins' 87-79 victory at Georgia Tech last night, for instance, the 6-foot-4 freshman center scored off an offensive rebound, then spun past a defender for a layup, and later caught a pass while cutting to the basket and laid the ball in without breaking stride. She also blocked a shot and stole a pass. But there's one thing Kizer really prides herself on doing for the Terps.

ATLANTA - There was a sense of desperation last night as Maryland met Georgia Tech with each team struggling to find its way in the rugged Atlantic Coast Conference. The Terps, who hadn't won on an opponent's court this season, had lost three of four, and the Yellow Jackets had lost six of seven games. Led by Greivis Vasquez, Maryland - which played sloppily but with urgency at the finish - held off Georgia Tech, 57-56, to keep alive its flickering hopes for an NCAA tournament bid. The Yellow Jackets missed two shots at the end that could have won it. After Lewis Clinch missed a jumper, Georgia Tech got the rebound and Iman Shumpert missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

It took awhile, but Gerald Henderson and No. 2 Duke are finally starting to shoot well enough to impress even J.J. Redick. Henderson scored 21 points and the Blue Devils shot 76 percent in the second half of their 73-56 victory over North Carolina State last night. Nolan Smith hit consecutive three-pointers 30 seconds apart to start the decisive run for the Blue Devils (17-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). But it wasn't until Henderson took the game over by hitting jumpers and driving the lane for authoritative dunks that his teammates started to find the seams in the Wolfpack's defense.

1 Big kickoff: Watching sports is great and all, but you better try to catch the historic inauguration of Barack Obama (left) before flipping to ESPN (11:30 a.m., just about every network). 2 Terps return home: The University of Maryland men's basketball team, after two gut-wrenching losses in Florida, faces Virginia at Comcast Center (8 p.m., chs. 54, 20). 3 More ACC action: Boston College, the first slayer of No. 1 North Carolina this season, travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech (7 p.m., Comcast SportsNet)

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Fresh off a victory in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener, the Maryland men's basketball team will do something tonight it hasn't done all season: The Terrapins will play a true road game. Maryland (12-3, 1-0) hasn't played on an opponent's home court since losing to Syracuse in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament last March. The game against Miami (12-3, 1-1) is part of a two-game road swing that continues Saturday at Florida State. "I've always felt road places are tough if the other team's good, and that's why the ACC is good," Maryland coach Gary Williams said after Saturday's 68-61 win over Georgia Tech at Comcast Center.

COLLEGE PARK - There was Maryland junior guard Greivis Vasquez, who heard boos earlier in the game from a smattering of fans on his team's home court, putting a finger to his lips and shouting at the student section to be quiet. There was Maryland, which had made one of 14 three-point shots in its stunning loss Wednesday to Morgan State, missing its first 13 yesterday against Georgia Tech at Comcast Center. There were the Terps, trailing by 10 with 9 1/2 minutes left in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener.