It was the same story as usual, but with a different ending.
Duke takes a first-half lead and carries it into the second half. The Blue Devils let the opponent get back into the game through turnovers, missed shots and a decrease in intensity.
For most of the season, this formula has led to a Duke loss. On Sunday, however, the Blue Devils were able to hold on for a 83-73 victory over Maryland.
"I thought overall our kids played hard and well," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We made what looked like huge mistakes at times, and they were, but overall our kids played their hearts out and hit big-time free throws. I was proud of them. This is a big win for us."
For a good deal of the second half, the Blue Devils were holding on for dear life. After junior Jeff Capel hit a layup and a foul shot with 9:45 to go in the second half to put Duke up by 20, the game went downhill for the Blue Devils. Over the next 4:36, Maryland outscored Duke 13-0. The series was highlighted by multiple Duke turnovers, as the Blue Devils had extreme difficulty getting the ball in against the Maryland press.
"I think maybe we got a bit tired," senior guard Chris Collins said. "When you get tired against a press, you tend to concentrate a little bit less. You don't tend to go to the open areas as strong and it's easier to defend. It was kind of frustrating inbounding the ball sometimes because the receivers weren't quite there and you rush some passes and you throw it away. Once you turn the ball over a little bit, you're a little bit hesitant to do it again. I think we got into that habit for a little while, but then in the last couple of minutes, we didn't have any turnovers."
Duke was able to hold on, chiefly as a result of strong play from sophomore Steve Wojciechowski. In addition to his crucial role of bringing the ball up, Wojciechowski stepped up his offensive play, finishing the game with a career-high 13 points. First, he broke the 13-0 Maryland run by knocking down a foul shot. And after Maryland cut the Duke lead down to six, Wojciechowski rattled in a three-pointer from the deep corner with 2:58 remaining to give the Blue Devils a nine-point lead.
From this point on, the Blue Devils were much more successful inbounding the ball, forcing the Terrapins to foul. The Blue Devils hit 13-of-16 free throws in the last three minutes, including 6-of-6 by Wojciechowski, to put the game away. In fact, Wojciechowski's three-pointer was the only shot the Blue Devils hit in the final 9:45, but it was enough. After a number of close losses throughout the season, including Thursday night's one-point loss to Temple, it was good enough for the Blue Devils.
"We needed to learn how to win, and we did today," Krzyzewski said. "Free throws and inbounding the ball in the last couple of minutes were excellent. Not fouling Maryland. Those are winning habits, but certainly we made some flagrant errors. There's no question about that. It's a game of mistakes and winners react well to mistakes that are made. Overall, I think our kids reacted well to them."
As ugly as the last 10 minutes were for the Blue Devils, the first 30 were often a thing of beauty. Duke was brilliant for a number of spurts throughout the first half and early second half, receiving strong performances from most of the players on the court. The catalyst for the win for Duke was its defense. The Blue Devils combined their traditional man-to-man defense with some zone defenses to shut down the Terrapins.
"I thought our [man-to-man defense] was decent," Krzyzewski said. "I think one of the keys for us was whether we could stop their transition and actually make them run halfcourt. They get down the court so quickly. They really can play four guards, so you've got to try to make them run halfcourt."
The defense created a number of strong offensive opportunities in the first half, giving the Blue Devils some transition baskets as well as 13 foul shots for the half. Freshman Taymon Domzalski hit 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the half, as well as grabbing five rebounds. The Blue Devils' outside game also helped to lead the team, as Collins hit two three-pointers and Capel hit three from beyond the arc in the half, giving the Blue Devils a 45-28 lead.
"When we're running, we're playing D like that and we're getting on the breaks, we're taking our open shots, we can be really dangerous," Collins said. "We just need to realize that our offense comes from our defense. We can't expect to just outscore teams. We've got to get on the defensive end and get some stops and get out and get running and when we do that, we're very dangerous."
The strong play continued early in the second half as well. Domzalski and junior Greg Newton continued to maintain their strong inside presence. Domzalski finished the game with nine rebounds and five blocks, while Newton had 13 boards and four blocked shots. In one two-minute stretch of the second half, the Blue Devils recorded four blocked shots, leading to two Newton baskets.
"We played great team defense," Newton said. "Everybody helped out. It was just a great team effort."
Wojciechowski also contributed to the early second-half run with a tough, heads-up play. After Maryland guard Terrell Stokes stole the ball from Wojciechowski while Wojciechowski was bringing the ball down the court, Wojciechowski came back on the next series to return the favor to Stokes and converted a play for a layup and a foul shot.
"One of the things we have been working on with our kids is their reaction after a mistake," Krzyzewski said. "Do you brood or do you get on to the next play? Steve Wojciechowski, he got stripped at half court, and the next time he stripped Stokes. That was a huge, huge play."
Despite their near-fatal collapse at the end, the Blue Devils see the game as another step forward as they grow from their early-season losses.
"Every game we can get better and we have done that so far," Wojciechowski said. "Tonight we had a big lead and they came back but we held the lead and we didn't lose it. They never got closer than two possessions. And that's a great comment on our part. That gives us a lot of confidence."
The Blue Devils hope to continue their three-game ACC winning streak as they travel down Tobacco Road to take on arch-rival North Carolina Wednesday in Chapel Hill.
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