COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Duke spoiled Maryland’s party – again.
On a night where the Terrapins honored former coach Gary Williams, naming the court at Comcast Center after him, the No. 8 Blue Devils hushed the announced sold-out crowd of 17,950 and dimmed the celebration with a scrappy, if not pretty 74-61 victory.
The Devils (17-3, 5-1 ACC) decided to attack the smaller Maryland front court and fed 6-foot-10 junior forward Mason Plumlee, who powered for 23 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. There were few easy buckets for him, but he finished in the paint to help lift the Devils to their fourth straight win over the Terps (12-7, 2-3).
Plumlee was everywhere, diving on the floor for loose balls, snatching rebounds and blocking shots. He was determined, he said, to have a better showing than his previous one at Florida State.
“Mason was spectacular tonight,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We went to him and he responded well.”
With four minutes remaining, Plumlee secured a pass with his back to the basket and used a spin move inside to score on Maryland 7-foot-1 redshirt-freshman center Alex Len. That handed the Devils a 64-54 lead and from there they controlled the game down the stretch.
But before the clock expired, Plumlee kept working to ensure his team’s success. He snagged a rebound with 3:45 remaining to hand the Devils a critical possession in a tight game that never appeared secure.
After Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin scored on a jump shot to cut Duke’s lead to 64-58 with 2:24 left, Plumlee became a playmaker. He found 6-11 junior Ryan Kelly in the post with a high-low pass that resulted in a dunk.
Later, with Stoglin at the free throw line with a minute remaining, Plumlee cleared the second of two missed attempts.
“The coaches showed a lot of confidence in me,” Plumlee said. “They knew I struggled last game. So they came to me early and often.”
Plumlee, who came in averaging 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds, added: “Honestly, I just said I’m desperate for a good game.”
The Devils were without freshman guard Quinn Cook, who remained in Durham while recovering from sickness. Cook, who is averaging 5.2 points and 2.1 assists, has dealt with a knee bruise he suffered in practice last week, but has been limited in practice by his illness.
But the Devils had Plumlee. “Every time we hit him, something good happened,” Duke junior Andre Dawkins said.
Kelly added 14 points, while freshman Austin Rivers scored 10 points, including critical drive-and-score plays early in the second half.
The Devils outscored the Terps 40-28 in the paint and displayed more defensive discipline. Krzyzewski said the team chang
Duke entered Wednesday’s game with a desire to play better defense, particularly after a 76-73 loss to Florida State on Saturday further exposed the teams struggles this season. A slight defensive breakdown by the Devils late in the game provided the Seminoles an opportunity to play spoiler in the final 4.9 seconds.
Duke has won its past 14 games following a loss and has not lost two games in row since 2009.
Throughout the season, the Devils have answered questions about defense. They own the second-to-last scoring defense (69.2) and worst field goal percentage defense (44.4) in the ACC.
Yet they were able to hold the Terps to 40.9 percent from the field. They collected 26 defensive boards and took two charges in the game. Krzyzewski said his team showed some maturity in overing a more athletic Maryland team.
“We were getting all dirty,” Kelly said of the defensive effort. “If we continue to do little things like that we’ll become a good team.”
Maryland guards found room to dribble-drive and penetrate into the paint early in the first half. The result were layups and dunks for the Terps.
Challenged to tightened their defense, the Devils clamped down in their man-to-man scheme and grew tough in the paint – Kelly and Plumlee banging for rebounds.
With two minutes remaining in the first half, sophomore guard Tyler Thornton, playing miles from his Washington, D.C., hometown, took a charge as Maryland guard Pe’Shon Howard sped into the lane off a fastbreak.
The Devils held Stoglin to four points in the first half. He finished with 16.
Duke took a 37-34 point lead into halftime after trading baskets with the Terps.
"There were a lot of hustle plays in the second half, 50-50 balls and free throw shooting was pretty much the whole game when it comes right down to it," Maryland caoch Mark Turgeon said. "We made some mistakes down the stretch, we couldn't get stops, and hopefully we'll learn from it. To give them credit, they played a great game."
Photo: Maryland's Ashton Pankey attempts to guard Duke's Mason Plumlee as he puts up a shot in the first half. CHUCK LIDDY - cliddy@newsobserver.com
Edward joined the News & Observer staff in 2004. He is a graduate of American University and Johns Hopkins University. He covers Wake Forest football and women's college basketball for the N&O. Edward is a native of Washington, D.C. He can be reached at 829-4781 or 
Comments
When the 3s aren't falling,
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 00:28 — duke_blueWhen the 3s aren't falling, then it's back to the basics. Mason was the man in the paint. Pretty much had his way. They will need that kind of turn out if they want to go deep.
While I agree with your 'paint' assessment
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 09:40 — gvillegatrMaryland had no answer down low for Dook. I can't recall the last time I saw Maryalnd so weak under and around the basket. Defenseless, they were. - Yoda.
Give credit to Dook for taking advantage of that.