Florida A&M Routs Lehigh in Play-In Game

<br> <br>DAYTON, Ohio (AP) _ The NCAA tournament's only team with a losing record is moving up its bracket. Terrence Woods, the nation's most prolific 3-point shooter, found his touch in the second

Wednesday, March 17th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) _ The NCAA tournament's only team with a losing record is moving up its bracket. Terrence Woods, the nation's most prolific 3-point shooter, found his touch in the second half Tuesday, leading Florida A&M to a 72-57 victory over Lehigh in the play-in game.

The Rattlers (15-16) will make the one-hour drive to Columbus for a first-round game Friday against Kentucky, hoping to do much better than their three play-in predecessors.

Northwestern State, Siena and North Carolina-Asheville fell hard in their first-round games against top seeds, losing by an average of 26 points.

To make matters worse, two of Florida A&M's guards ended the game with noticeable limps. Woods bruised his thigh in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic tournament title game Saturday, and had trouble making shots in the first half.

His stride and his shot got better as the game went along. Woods finished 5-of-10 from behind the arc with 21 points.

Tony Tate also hurt his leg in a pileup and had to leave the game temporarily. He grimaced often and finished with nine points on 1-of-8 shooting.

Even with their limps, the Rattlers had more than enough.

Lehigh (20-11) led for less than a minute in its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1988. The Patriot League winner fell to 0-14 in the NCAA tournament.

The atmosphere at the University of Dayton Arena was typical for the tournament's opening game. Small contingents of family and friends sat behind the benches and cheered each score, but most of the 7,808 fans sat quietly, waiting for some drama.

Most of it involved Woods.

The 6-foot-3 senior guard with the smooth release led Division I with 139 3-pointers last season, the fourth-highest total in NCAA history. He led the nation again this season with 129, shooting 39.8 percent from behind the arc.

The bruised thigh left him with a stiff gait in warmups, and he missed his first three shots: a reverse layup and two short jumpers. Woods limped to the bench less than five minutes into the game, stretching his left thigh on the sideline to loosen up.

With their best shooter shuttling in and out of the lineup, the Rattlers couldn't crack an extended defense that took away their specialty. Florida A&M shot almost as many 3s as free throws this season, but its wide-open offense was tame without Woods.

The Rattlers made only a pair of 3s in the first half, both by Woods, and led 39-33 at halftime. Lehigh couldn't use its size advantage on the front line or take care of the ball _ the Mountain Hawks had 10 turnovers.

In the second half, Woods found his touch.

He came off a screen and hit a 3-pointer between two defenders, sparking a nine-point run that built the lead to 16 points midway through the half. Lehigh was only 2-of-15 from the field as Florida A&M pulled away.

Austen Rowland, the Patriot League's player of the year, was just 3-of-14 from the field for eight points. Kevin Tempest led Lehigh with 13.