Walt Williams

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Maybe you can't always get what you want, but the Maryland basketball team got exactly what it needed last night, namely, its first road win of the season.And it came in one of the most unlikely of settings, the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center, as the Terrapins beat No. 23 Florida State, 93-85.The Terps (9-10, 2-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) got the biggest supply of what they needed from Walt Williams, who turned in another bravura performance, scoring 38 points.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Maryland coach Gary Williams could be excused for wanting to find some other place to spend the week after Christmas.Both times he's been here for the Fiesta Bowl Classic, Williams has had less than a jolly time.On his first trip, in 1985, Williams was ejected -- the only coach ejected in the tournament's seven-year history -- as his Boston College team lost to host Arizona in the championship. This time his Terrapins set tournament records for fouls (33) and disqualifications (four, all starters including point guard Walt Williams)

COLLEGE PARK -- When Walt Williams was contemplating whether to stay at the University of Maryland last summer, his coaches and teammates on the Terrapins basketball team thought about what life on the court would be like without the 6-foot-8 junior point guard.For at least the next four weeks, and possibly the rest of the season, Maryland will find out.X-rays taken yesterday at the campus health center revealed that Williams sustained a fractured left fibula during Saturday's 94-78 loss to 14th-ranked Duke at Cole Field House.

COLLEGE PARK -- With 18 seconds left, Kevin McLinton raised both fists into the air. The junior guard wasn't signaling a play as much as starting to celebrate the end of Maryland's long losing streak.When the final buzzer sounded yesterday, McLinton looked up toward a scoreboard at Cole Field House with a look of joyful disbelief.The score -- Maryland 84, Clemson 71 -- brought a broad smile to McLinton's face, a bear hug from Terrapins coach Gary Williams and one last ovation from a crowd of 11,667.

There are two questions to be answered by the University of Maryland basketball team this season: Will the Terrapins finish at .500 or better, and will Walt Williams play again this season?Maryland (13-11) could take a significant step toward accomplishing the first when it plays Virginia Tech (10-13) in Blacksburg, Va., tonight. A victory would ensure a .500 season for the Terps, who have three Atlantic Coast Conference games remaining.Williams doesn't appear ready to play his first game since suffering a fractured left fibula Jan. 12 against Duke.

Opponent: Miami HeatSite: Miami ArenaTime: 7: 30TV/Radio: Ch. 50/WWLG (1360 AM), WTEM (570 AM)Outlook: In a recent stretch of big games, this is the biggest for the Bullets, facing one of the two teams tied for the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Washington trails Miami and Charlotte by 3 1/2 games. The Heat, winner in eight of its past 10 games, lost, 106-95, Wednesday to the Los Angeles Lakers. C Alonzo Mourning (22.7 ppg, 10.4 rpg) leads Miami, and the team boosted its playoff chances by making trades for G Tim Hardaway (15.1 ppg)

SACRAMENTO -- Walt Williams likely will miss the opening of Sacramento Kings training camp at University of California, Davis tomorrow, barring a sudden and dramatic change in the direction of negotiations between his representative and the Kings.Len Elmore, Williams' attorney, said the Kings' position displayed in talks Wednesday was tantamount to an ultimatum."This seems to be that either [owner] Jim Thomas cannot afford Walt or chooses not to pay him what the market has dictated as fair," Elmore said.

University of Maryland guard Walt Williams, who began as one of the lesser-known players at tryouts for this year's Pan Am Games team, was one of 12 selected yesterday by U.S. head coach Gene Keady.Keady, who also coaches Purdue, said the 6-foot-8 senior from Temple Hills has a chance to start at either point guard or shooting guard when the competition begins in Havana next week. The United States will play the host team in the opening round."He's certainly going to play a lot," Keady said from West Lafayette, Ind., where the team was to practice last night before leaving today for Orlando, Fla. "A lot depends on how he does the next few days.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- You didn't think they were going undefeated this year, did you?The bubble burst on a perfect season for the University of Maryland basketball team. But the Terrapins, as has been their habit under Gary Williams, didn't go gently into the night. After trailing Louisville by 19 points with 13 minutes left in the game, Maryland cut its deficit twice to seven down the stretch before succumbing to the Cardinals, 96-79, last night at noisy Freedom Hall.The defeat prevented the Terps (5-1)

COLLEGE PARK -- Gary Williams wanted to soak it all in. He leaned against a wall, his shirt drenched with sweat, and let the moment wash over him.Something had finally gone right. Something had gone very right. Something had gone so improbably, dramatically, gut-wrenchingly, agonizingly, head- spinningly right that Williams couldn't -- wouldn't -- let it go.You don't beat North Carolina every day, after all. And you never beat North Carolina, or anyone else, by giving up a 22-point halftime lead and letting it come down to a Walt Williams tip-in with 1.3 seconds to play.