COLLEGE PARK, Md. - In its sixth ACC road game of the season, No. 7 Duke yet again struggled out of the blocks, trailing Maryland for most of the first half. And yet again, Gerald Henderson kept the Blue Devils in the game with high-flying dunks, tough jump shots and strong defense.
But this time, a host of teammates helped carry the load late to lead Duke to a key conference victory.
A balanced offensive performance-including clutch plays by Elliot Williams, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer-gave the Blue Devils a hard-earned 78-67 win at the Comcast Center Wednesday against a Terrapin team riding the momentum of Saturday's upset of then-No. 3 North Carolina.
"That's a heck of a win," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We knew coming in here that it would be a vintage Maryland team and vintage Maryland crowd. It's what you expect at Maryland."
And while Duke (23-5, 9-4 in the ACC) folded on the road in its previous three ACC trips-losses at Wake Forest, Clemson and Boston College-the Blue Devils played their best basketball in the game's last six minutes for the win.
Duke emerged from the locker room at halftime tied at 34, and the score stayed close for the majority of the half. The teams traded baskets amid constant whistles-they were called for 48 combined fouls on the night-until a Henderson three put the Blue Devils up 63-60 with 5:22 to play. On the very next possession, Henderson found Singler for a 3-pointer of his own to give Duke a lead that never dipped below four points the rest of the way.
The night's defining play came three minutes later. Henderson drove right, and kicked the ball out to Singler on the wing, who passed to Williams in the corner. Instead of shooting the open three, though, Williams passed to Scheyer on the wing, and Scheyer's only 3-pointer of the night gave Duke an insurmountable 72-63 advantage and sent the red-clad Terrapins fans filing for the exits.
"Elliot really came up with a couple of loose ball rebounds that either tied the game or put us two points ahead, and he made the pass of the game," Krzyzewski said. "He made the extra pass to Jon, and that 3-point shot was just huge."
Scheyer went just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc, but the Terrapins (17-10, 6-7) had trouble scoring along the perimeter, as well. Maryland failed to find its offensive rhythm all night because of Greivis Vasquez's early foul trouble. Vasquez had recorded 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in 44 minutes of action to best North Carolina. But Wednesday, the Venezuela native mustered a line of just 10 points, six rebounds and five assists in a mere 22 minutes of play. Even when he was in the game, Vasquez was hounded by Williams' tight defense, and Duke switched defenders on him to fluster the Terrapins' offense.
"No matter what happened, one thing you see when Elliot is starting on you is he's going to fight you, so that can frustrate a guy a little bit," Scheyer said. "The big key was getting [Vasquez] in foul trouble-when he's on the court, it makes a big difference."
Maryland had more success down low, particularly in the first half. The Terrapins scored 28 of their 34 first-half points in the paint as the Blue Devils did a poor job of protecting the basket, and forward Landon Milbourne put up the majority of his game-high 19 points from within eight feet. The home team managed to score inside in the second half, as well, but Duke made Maryland earn its points at the free throw line, something it was unable to do effectively. The Terrapins shot just 12-of-19 from the line in the second half.
NOTES: Krzyzewski said that Nolan Smith, who ran into a screen from Maryland's Dave Neal and crumpled to the floor in the second half, was suffering from a mild headache, but had not been nauseous during or after the game. The Duke medical staff believed Smith may have suffered a mild concussion, Krzyzewski said. Smith was met by his mother and stepfather after the game and was taken to a hospital.
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