Maryland Takes the Easy Way Out Once Again, 87-52

Maryland went to the Puerto Rico Shootout in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, not having been tested in its first four games. The fifth-ranked Terrapins left with three more easy victories and the tournament championship.

The third of those wins was an 87-52 rout of Pittsburgh on Saturday night in the tournament championship game that left the Terrapins (7-0) with an average margin of victory of 37.1 points for the season.

Maryland started the tournament with a 50-point victory over host school American University of Puerto Rico and followed that with a 70-54 victory over No. 10 UCLA--a game in which the Terrapins had a 23-point lead with 8 1/2 minutes to play.

Pittsburgh (6-1) beat No. 13 Xavier of Ohio and No. 4 Kentucky in its first two tournament games, but was no match for Maryland, which used a 20-0 run to take a 46-17 halftime lead. The Terrapins’ biggest lead was 87-41 with 2:18 left.

“We have a schedule as tough as anybody’s in the nation and yet people wanted to give us heat over the first five games [against Western Carolina, Maryland Baltimore County, Hofstra, Duquesne and American],” said Maryland Coach Gary Williams. “You don’t have to say anything after you win. You just win.”

Guard Laron Profit, the tournament’s most valuable player, led Maryland with 23 points--nine in the decisive first-half run--while guard Steve Francis had 19.

“We can turn it up and play defense a lot of different ways, half-court, full-court, man-to-man, there’s a lot of things we can do,” said Profit. “Sometimes when we get on one of those runs it can feel like we have nine guys out there.”

In other tournament games Saturday:

* San Francisco (4-1) held Xavier (3-2) without a field goal for a span of 13:40 in a 82-69 victory in the fifth-place game. Forward Terrence Moore, who was suspended for violating team rules for San Francisco’s first tournament game against UCLA, made all eight of his shots and had 17 points.

* Colorado (5-2) used a 24-0 run to take a 28-point halftime lead, then coasted to a 101-56 victory over American (0-3) in the seventh-place game.