The most anticipated game of this young basketball season came to a crashing halt Thursday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium as the No. 1 Blue Devils trounced the No. 3 Maryland Terrapins 99-78.
Despite its final score, the game--which included 30 lead changes--was incredibly close. After the first 20 minutes, Maryland (13-3, 3-1 in the ACC) had a one-point lead, and with 7:57 left, Duke (15-1, 4-1) was only up 85-75 after a Lonny Baxter layup.
Unfortunately for the Terps, it was their last field goal of the night, as the Blue Devils opened the floodgates with a 14-3 run to secure the win.
"We just didn't do everything we were supposed to do in the second half," said Maryland coach Gary Williams, adding that he thought his team's energy level was lower in the second half.
After Maryland's last layup, Duke went on the defensive, fighting for every point, rebound and block, holding the Terps to only a few free throws. As Gary Williams pointed out, every shot his team missed it should have hit, and shots it almost always drains somehow rimmed out.
The final checkmate occurred when Baxter picked up two quick fouls, his fourth and fifth of the evening, and had to leave the game with 3:46 left. With a gaping hole in the middle, Duke was able to cruise behind Jason Williams and his 34 points.
"Jason, I thought, was huge," coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
In the second half, Duke made a few key changes that Maryland simply could not handle. With Jason Williams leading the team in virtually every offensive statistical category, Duke made a point of trying to get Dunleavy and Boozer more touches. The duo that normally averages about 34 points had been held to 14 in the first half, but by the end of the game they had poured in 41.
Secondly, Dahntay Jones brought a much tougher defensive game, grabbing two blocks in the second half alone, and holding the All-American, Juan Dixon, to four points in the last 20 minutes.
"I just tried to limit how many times he touched the ball, and if he caught the ball, just stay in front of him and just try to make him work for it," Jones said.
A few seconds after the much anticipated tipoff, it was clear both teams were ready to play. After a quick Maryland turnover which gave Duke an early 5-0 lead, the Terrapins went right to their game plan of pounding the ball inside. After Baxter and Dixon--the player Krzyzewski says is his favorite non-Blue Devil--got Maryland back on its feet, Jason Williams went right to the basket quickly establishing a penetration game that, unlike his normal three-point fiesta, would be Duke's bread and butter all night. The two teams continued their game of trench warfare and went into the locker room in almost a dead heat.
"I felt like I was doing a pretty good job defensively and I thought the main thing was just to stick with it in the second half," said Mike Dunleavy, who scored only four first-half points and was confined to the bench for six minutes because of foul trouble. "I knew things would open up and they did."
The first half, which was dominated by one-on-one play, featured both teams playing good defense, but better offense. The Terps put Steve Blake, one of the few people that has, in the past, contained Jason Williams, on the junior guard, who blew by him on two of his first three touches.
Meanwhile, Baxter and Carlos Boozer, another classic matchup during last year's feuds, traded buckets with both trying to get the early upper hand.
"Our team played excellent on the defensive end," Krzyzewski said. "Both teams have so much offensive power that even when you're playing good defense, guys make shots."
Duke has only a few hours of rest before Saturday's home game against No. 13 Wake Forest at 1 p.m. in Cameron.
"It was a great win for us," Krzyzewski said. "We beat a hell of a team. They're going to be in the thick of it right until the end. We have to have a quick turnaround and get ready for Wake. This will be a quick 36 hours for us."
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