COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Needing a defensive stop to keep Maryland from winning on Saturday night, Duke followed what it had done most of the second half.
And that was what Maryland needed.
After driving the lane and drawing a foul with 2.8 seconds left,
Maryland freshman guard Seth Allen sank two free throws to give the
Terrapins an 83-81 win over No. 2 Duke before a sell-out crowd at the
Comcast Center.
The Terrapins (18-7, 6-6 ACC), who shot 66.7 percent in the second half
and made 23 of 31 free throws over the final 20 minutes, designed their
final play for center Alex Len, who led them with 19 points.
But Allen, Maryland's only other double-figure scorer with 16 points,
beat Duke guard Quinn Cook down the lane where Cook had to foul him to
prevent an easy shot.
"Our action distracted the defense and let him get all the way in the
lane," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "We occupied the defense, and
there was no help."
Allen's two free throws represented the final failure for Duke's defense.
"We weren't talking," Cook said. "We had some miscommunications on
switches and not rebounding and fouling too much. They hit some free
throws. All credit to them."
Cook had a chance to win the game, but his long desperation 3-pointer bounced off the rim.
"We fought back, we had a chance to win and they wanted it more today," said Cook, who scored 18 points
Duke's 3-point shooting, defense and halfcourt offense failed to meet its high standards.
The Blue Devils made only 6 of 19 shot from 3-point range (31.6 percent) and were outrebounded 40-20.
Mason Plumlee, Duke's national player of the year candidate, had his
worst night of the season. The 6-10 senior center scored four points and
grabbed three rebounds before fouling out.
"I just have to show up," Plumlee said. "I didn't show up to play
today, and I let my teammates down. That's not how I've played all
season. I hope it doesn't happen again. It's all on me."
With Plumlee having an off night, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski gave Josh
Hairston and Alex Murphy more playing time in the post. Murphy was on
the court for the final 26 seconds after Plumlee fouled out.
"Tonight's not about rotations or Xs and Os," Krzyzewski said. "We
don't have any bigs. If Mason's not playing, we're just trying to
survive. We've been trying to survive since Ryan (Kelly) went out (with a
foot injury), and Mason's carried us. Tonight, he wasn't playing that
well."
Hairston scored a season-high 11 points, while Murphy had four points and a steal in his eight minutes of play.
The Blue Devils (22-3, 9-3) never led the in second half and trailed by
77-67 with 3:39 to play. But, playing their third game in seven days,
the Blue Devils found the energy for one final run at the Terrapins.
With Maryland up 80-72, Seth Curry, who led Duke with 25 points, hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.
After a Duke timeout, Maryland's Dez Wells was called for an offensive
foul with 38.7 seconds left. Down 80-78, Duke worked the ball to Curry,
who had an open look from the free throw line extended. But his shot
rattled in and out with 28.2 seconds to play.
"I knew it was in," Curry said. "I started my backpedal like it was down already, and it just rimmed out on me."
Maryland's Jake Layman, after being fouled, hit one of two free throws for an 81-78 Terrapins lead with 26.9 to play.
But at the other end, Layman made a mistake when he fouled Duke's Rasheed Sulaimon as he attempted a 3-pointer.
Sulaimon sank the first two free throws with 16.7 seconds to play.
Maryland called timeout, but Sulaimon stepped up and hit the third to
tie the score at 81.
"That was incredible, especially with the timeout," Krzyzewski said. "They were all right in."
But Duke couldn't make the defensive stop to get a good chance to win the game and saw its six-game winning streak end.
Meanwhile, Maryland collected a win that left Turgeon fighting back
tears during his postgame news conference. Last Sunday, when the
Terrapins lost 80-69 at home to Virginia, Turgeon said some Maryland
fans were so harsh toward his family that they left the game early.
After Saturday's game, the atmosphere was far different.
"I know what it means to our fan base," Turgeon said. "I want to beat Duke. I want to beat Duke. This means a lot to me."
NOTES — On the side of the court opposite the Duke bench, a distraught
Cook hung his head after missing his final shot as Maryland's students
rushed the court in celebration. Duke's Todd
Zafirovski, a former
walk-on, ran over to that side of the court, wrapped Cook in his arms
and led him through the bedlam and to the locker room. "Todd came to get
me to make sure I didn't get hit by any students," Cook said. "Just him
being a good teammate."
