By David Ginsburg
Associated PressCOLLEGE PARK, Md. ó This game was far more typical of the Maryland-Duke rivalry, even if the result was quite familiar.
Gerald Henderson scored 19 points, Jon Scheyer hit a key 3-pointer with 1:54 left and the seventh-ranked Blue Devils spoiled Maryland’s bid for another upset with a 78-67 victory Wednesday night.
Duke blew away the Terrapins 85-44 last month, but Maryland was coming off a surprise win over then-No. 3 North Carolina. So the Blue Devils had a feeling it wouldn’t be nearly as easy this time around.
“The last time we played them they were really going in a different direction,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We knew it would be a vintage Maryland team, and we knew it would be a vintage Maryland crowd. This is a tough place to win.”
The fans were on their feet long before the opening tip, and many of the students remained standing throughout. Several carried signs, one of which read, “DUKE HATES PUPPIES.”
It was 60-all with 5:44 left. By the time Scheyer’s pivotal shot from beyond the arc made it 72-63, the volume of the sellout crowd had already dropped several decibels.
“We kind of seized the game there,” Krzyzewski said.
Elliot Williams had 15 points and Scheyer added 12 for the Blue Devils (23-5, 9-4 ACC). They ended a three-game road losing streak in the conference.
Duke has won four straight over Maryland for the first time since 1997-2000.
“It was definitely a big, big win for us,” Duke’s Kyle Singler said. “We knew coming in it would be a tough game. Maryland is playing well after their big win against North Carolina, but we stuck together and, at the end of the game, we hit big shots.”
Landon Milbourne scored 19 points for Maryland (17-10, 6-7). It played much of the second half without leading scorer Greivis Vasquez, who was saddled with foul trouble.
“It was a big impact,” Milbourne said. “Greivis is definitely a leader on this team. He’s the leading scorer ó he’s almost leading in every category. You can definitely see a difference when he’s not on the court.”
Despite the loss, Maryland coach Gary Williams lauded his team’s performance.
“We didn’t get the win, but you know what? I know what we did out there tonight and how hard we worked to get where we had a chance to win that game,” he said. “We’re going to be tough the rest of the way, I guarantee you.”
Duke pulled out of a halftime tie to take a 41-37 lead, but that wasn’t the worst development for Maryland. Vasquez got his third foul with 19:08 left and headed to the bench after being called for No. 4 with 17:42 to go.
The Terrapins didn’t falter. Dave Neal flattened Nolan Smith with a screen at the Duke foul line, then hit a 3-pointer at the other end, and Eric Hayes tied it at 45 with a shot from beyond the arc as the shot clock expired.
Hayes and Adrian Bowie ran the Maryland offense effectively in place of Vasquez, who returned with 7:33 left and the score tied at 58.
Williams shuffled Vasquez in and out of the lineup over the next few minutes, removing him whenever possible while the Terps were on defense.
But Vasquez got his final foul on a drive to the basket with 3:24 left. He finished with 10 points in 22 minutes.
“We lost a lot of leadership and a big part of our offense,” Bowie said.
Vasquez was coming off one of the greatest games in Maryland history, a triple-double that included 35 points in the win over UNC.
In the first game against Duke, Maryland trailed 40-15 at halftime. So the Terrapins couldn’t complain about finishing the first half of the rematch tied at 34, especially after outscoring Duke 28-8 in the paint.
Despite shooting 6-for-19 from the field in the opening 10 minutes, the Blue Devils kept it close. After Maryland went up 20-16, Greg Paulus hit a 3-pointer to start a surge that enabled Duke to pull even.
Maryland went back in front, but a 3-pointer by Paulus retied it with 54 seconds left in the half.