The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

MAKING his collegiate debut against the defending national champions and in front of a sellout crowd at the new $1 billion Barclays Center, Shaquille Cleare made an immediate impact in limited minutes for the Maryland Terrapins in their 72-69 loss against third-ranked Kentucky.

After trailing by as much as 15 in the first half, Cleare’s dunk, his lone basket of the game, capped a comeback for the Terps and tied the game at 53 with 11:33 left to play in the second half.

It was the game’s first tie since 9-9 just over a minute into the first half, in a game carried live on ESPN.

Cleare was limited to just seven minutes with 7’1” sophomore center Alex Len, dominant for the Terps with 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

A pair of three pointers by freshman Seth Allen gave the Terps a 59-57 lead just three possessions later, their first lead of the second half.

Maryland trimmed the deficit to 70-69 when Len rebounded his own missed free throw and followed with a layup with 8.9 seconds left to play.

Reserve point guard Jarrod Polson made two free throws to seal the game for Kentucky as the third ranked team escaped with the win.

Cleare and the Terps return to College Park Maryland for their home opener against Morehead State at 8pm tonight.

The 6’9’’ 270 pound Cleare, a four star recruit out of The Village School in Houston, Texas, was ranked 30th in his class by ESPN.

Despite not being selected as a McDonald’s All-American Game, he was ranked higher than three McDonald’s All-Americans in ESPN’s rankings, and is expected to eventually figure prominently into the frontcourt plans for the Terps.

Last year, Maryland finished with a 6-10 conference record in the ACC for a .375 win percentage.

They ended up with an overall record of 17-15 for a .531 percentage. North Carolina topped the ACC at 14-2, followed by Duke at 13-3.

Cleare is the son of Brian and Agatha Cleare from North Andros. He got a late start playing the sport but has blossomed into a player that is now a member of a division I programme and eventually a member of the men’s national basketball team and a future NBA player.

In an interview with the Tribune this summer as he prepared for the move to Maryland, Cleare said he was both mentally and physically ready to live up to lofty expectations.

“I think I’ve done the necessary work to get play at the college level and I’m really looking forward to playing for Maryland this year,” he said.

“They always say I have to be a big time player coming from the islands. I don’t know what it is about the athletes from the Family Islands. We always seem to grow very big. I guess I got a lot of my height from my family because my parents were very tall.”