COLLEGE PARK -- The Maryland players had waited for this moment for a while, some two years, some three. Their fans had waited a long time too, nine years going on an eternity.
Last night, it arrived.
And so did the Terrapins.
After a horrendous start that saw top-ranked North Carolina jump out to a 14-point lead, eighth-ranked Maryland roared back to upset the Tar Heels, 86-73, before a wild sellout crowd of 14,500 at Cole Field House.
"This is the most important win since I've been here," said Maryland coach Gary Williams. "We still needed to prove that we could win a game like this."
Behind a magnificent performance by junior guards Johnny Rhodes and Duane Simpkins, the Terps took the lead late in the first half and took command early in the second half. Rhodes and Simpkins each scored 21 points, many at key times. Rhodes hit 11 straight to spark the Terps' first-half rally, and Simpkins scored a crucial three-point play with a little more than two minutes left to seal the win.
The victory was the first for Maryland (18-4) over North Carolina (18-2) in three years, and the first for the Terps over a No. 1 team since the 1985-86 team gave the Tar Heels their first defeat at the Dean E. Smith Center.
It also helped Maryland tie North Carolina for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference at 8-2.
Moments after sophomore forward Keith Booth threw down an exclamation-point dunk with three seconds remaining, the fans poured on the floor for a celebration that went on for nearly an hour.
"We wanted to show that we were hungrier than we were last year," said Booth, who overcame early foul trouble to do a great defensive job on North Carolina's Jerry Stackhouse. "We wanted to show that we're one of the best programs in the country."
The defeat was the first for the Tar Heels since they lost their ACC opener at North Carolina State Jan. 4. It also marked the second time in three days that the No. 1 team in the country had been upset, following George Washington's victory over Massachusetts.
Rhodes and Simpkins had plenty of help, as all five Maryland starters finished in double figures. Sophomore All-American Joe Smith scored 14 points to go along with 16 rebounds, Booth added 13 points and Exree Hipp had 12.
Rasheed Wallace led the Tar Heels with 15, but Stackhouse, the ACC's leading scorer, was held to 13 on 4-for-15 shooting and senior guard Donald Williams scored only nine, shooting 3-for-11.
"At our place, we were hitting everything, and here they were hitting everything," said Wallace. "There was nothing we could do about it."
Not after Maryland had stormed back from a 30-16 deficit with a little more than nine minutes left in the first half. Trailing 34-21, the Terps scored eight straight points and 18 of the next 20.
In Rhodes' hot stretch, he scored back-to-back threes, a three-point play on a neat feed from freshman guard Sarunas Jasikevicius and a layup on a pass from freshman forward Rodney Elliott. Mario Lucas finished the run with a short jumper.
"We worked our butts off to get back in it," said Rhodes, who added nine rebounds and four assists. "Everyone helped us. Everyone was in the flow. Sarunas and Mario did a great job coming off the bench."
After giving up many open shots in the first 10 minutes -- the Tar Heels hit five of their first six threes, 12 of their first 20 overall -- the Maryland defense shut down North Carolina. The Tar Heels finished the game 27 of 66 overall, 11 of 29 from three-point range.
Williams, who was whistled for a technical less than two minutes into the game, called a pair of quick timeouts in the first half trying to get his team back on track. The Tar Heels scored only one basket in the last six minutes as Maryland went into its locker room with a 39-38 lead.
"Basically, we were letting them take open shots early in the game and Coach told us to get a hand in their face," said Joe Smith, who would become the first Maryland sophomore ever to go over 1,000 points for his career. "Once we picked up our defense, things started to come easier."
Leading 43-42 early in the second half, the Terps seemingly broke it open with an 11-2 run. The Tar Heels closed to within four points once, at 56-52, but Simpkins hit a three. On four other occasions, North Carolina got within five. Each time Maryland had an answer.
At 59-54, it was Booth hitting on a reverse and Rhodes hitting one of his four threes in five tries to push the lead back to 10, 64-54. At 64-59, it was Booth hitting an open 15-footer. At 68-63, it was Hipp making a layup off a miss by Donald Williams.
"They hit their shots and we didn't," said North Carolina coach Dean Smith.
Perhaps the biggest shot of the night came from Simpkins. With time running out on the 35-second clock and the Terps ahead 70-63, Simpkins backed in on freshman guard Shammond Williams and hit an off-balance 14-footer that hugged the rim and dropped in. He was fouled and also hit the free throw.
"I knew we were running out of time," said Simpkins, who hit eight of 12 shots and also had seven assists. "I fumbled the ball when I made my move. Johnny was behind but I knew that there wasn't enough time for him to shoot."
As the ball dropped through, Simpkins punched the air and danced toward midcourt. Booth picked him up and dropped him. But the celebration wouldn't start for good until the final minute.
The Tar Heels cut their deficit to five again, 73-68, but got no closer as the Terps kept hitting their free throws. Maryland made six straight in the final 1:18 and 15 of 16 overall.
"There are a lot of national contenders in the ACC," said Dean Smith. "Obviously Maryland is one who can win the whole thing."
Said Gary Williams: "I think for our school, tonight was for everybody."
For everybody who has waited for this moment to arrive. Some longer than others.