COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Over the last three years, the baseline in front of the Duke bench at Cole Field House has seen both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat for the men's basketball team. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils (15-5, 4-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference), Sunday afternoon was a case of the latter, as they dropped a 74-70 heartbreaker to No. 7 Maryland (17-2, 6-1).
Coming out of a timeout with 15.4 seconds remaining and down two, junior guard Steve Wojciechowski took a pass from senior Jeff Capel in the left corner. Wojciechowski looked to shoot the three, dribbled towards the basket and shot a jumper after being unable to find Capel or sophomore Trajan Langdon open on the perimeter. Maryland center Obinna Ekezie stepped in Wojciechowski's way, drawing his first charge of the year and sealing the Maryland victory.
"That charge-that's a big defensive play," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They took away our shooters and he shot faked.... He tried to make the play, but Maryland was right and won the game."
The final play brought back memories of the last two battles between Duke and Maryland in Cole. Two years ago, Terrapin superstar Joe Smith blocked a last second baseline jumper by Erik Meek to seal the game for the Terps. Last season, Ricky Price hit a buzzer beating three-pointer off a pass from Wojciechowski to give the Blue Devils a 77-75 victory.
"The thing we didn't want to do was get sucked in," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "On any dribble penetration, you have to be careful, because that's where they get their threes, when they kick it out. We were expecting Wojciechowski to pass in that situation
The Wojciechowski charge capped off a final four minutes of play highlighted by back and forth momentum and big baskets by both teams. Down 66-64, Maryland guard Sarunas Jasikevicius connected with forward Laron Profit on two consecutive back door alley-oops to give the Terrapins a two-point lead.
The Blue Devils quickly recovered, as Capel nailed one-of-two free throws to bring Duke within one. Following a Maryland timeout, Terrapin senior Keith Booth nailed a hanging bank shot and drew a foul, which he was unable to convert, to give the Terps a three-point lead.
Capel then missed the front and of a one-and-one, while Maryland guard Terrell Stokes hit two free throws to put the Terps up five, 72-67.
With their backs against the wall, the Blue Devils got the ball to Capel in the corner, where he hit a hanging three with Profit blanketing him to bring Duke within two with 54.1 seconds remaining.
"Laron Profit played great defense on that play," Williams said. "Capel almost had to shoot it straight up to get it over his hand."
On the other end of the court, Duke senior Carmen Wallace blocked a layup attempt by Jasikevicius to give Duke its final chance, which was stifled by Ekezie's big defensive play.
The first 36 minutes of the game played out much like the last four-a back and forth struggle between the two squads. The first half was a defensive battle, as Duke was held to 11-of-34 (32.4%) shooting from the floor, including 16.7 percent from behind the three-point arc. Junior forward Roshown McLeod led the way for Duke with 11 points in the half, as well as six rebounds. McLeod finished the day with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds.
"Roshown played very well," Krzyzewski said. "He tried to use his low post stuff more today than he has in the past. He became more physical."
The Terrapins also struggled from the floor in the first half, shooting only 38.9 percent. A 12-4 run by the Terps, however, led by seven points from Profit on a jumper, a three and a layup, gave Maryland a 33-29 halftime lead.
The two teams continued their closely-matched play in the second half, with Maryland maintaining its small lead for the early part of the period behind strong jump shooting from Jasikevicius and solid inside play by Ekezie. Maryland extended its lead to eight on a basket by forward Rodney Elliott, followed the next time down the court by two free throws by Elliott.
The Blue Devils quickly clawed back, as McLeod hit a baby hook in the lane, then Wallace, McLeod and Capel hit consecutive threes, interrupted only by three Maryland free throws, as Duke tied it up at 56 with just under eight minutes remaining.
However, Duke was unable to outshoot the Terrapins, as Maryland shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the second half. The Terrapins were carried by balanced play from their whole team, as four players hit double figures in scoring, led by 16 from Profit, and four grabbed five or more rebounds.
NOTES: The Blue Devils wore their alternative black uniforms on Sunday. Their record in the new uniforms dropped to 2-1.... Freshman Chris Carrawell played without the protective shoulder pads he had donned in Duke's last two outings.... Senior Greg Newton suffered a twisted ankle in the second half but returned to action later in the half.
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