Maryland Falls To No. 10 Duke 73-55
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Maryland barely had more rebounds than the Plumlee family. The Terrapins also wound up playing some critical minutes without the Atlantic Coast Conference's top scorer.
It all added up to a loss that first-year coach Mark Turgeon still insists wasn't as lopsided as the final score indicated.
No. 10 Duke beat the Terps 73-55 on Saturday behind double-doubles from both Miles and Mason Plumlee.
Miles had 13 points and a career-high 22 rebounds -- the most of any player in coach Mike Krzyzewski's 37-year career. Mason had 16 points and 10 rebounds. They combined for 32 rebounds -- or, one fewer than the entire Terrapins team.
"The Plumlee brothers were dominant," Turgeon said. "Their big guys kicked our big guys' tails."
Nick Faust scored 15 points but Terrell Stoglin, the ACC's leading scorer, finished with 13 -- nine below his average -- on 4-of-16 shooting with some questionable shot selection for the Terps (14-10, 4-6).
"They just weren't going to let Terrell beat them," Turgeon said. "That's the reason (Krzyzewski) has won 900-something games. He's not a dummy. They weren't going to let Terrell beat them, and he can't handle it, and then we get frustrated because he throws out of the double team, and guys aren't making plays."
Turgeon sat Stoglin with 10:04 remaining after he picked up his third foul, and without him, the Terps cut an 11-point deficit to four before he re-entered at the 8:28 mark. He checked out again with 6:24 to play and didn't return until the 2:17 mark and Maryland was down by double figures for good.
"His shot selection wasn't great. It was hurting us," Turgeon said. "We cut it to four without him, so we took him out. We've got to learn from it. We can't shoot shots like that and be a good team on the road. But he has carried us. ... So, it is just one game. Hopefully we will learn from it and be better (against Boston College) on Thursday."
Playing their first game since starting point guard Pe'Shon Howard was lost for the season with a torn right knee ligament, they were just 1 of 14 from 3-point range, missing their first 10, and lost their third in four games.
Still, they kept themselves in it for much of the way. Faust's jumper in the lane with 5 minutes left pulled Maryland to 60-53, but the Terrapins managed just one field goal the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Austin Rivers countered with a free throw and a deep 3, Curry had a pretty drive down the lane and Miles Plumlee followed Curry's missed jumper with an authoritative slam that made it 68-53 with 1:30 left.
"We played with energy, we played hard and when we do that, we're going to play hard on offense and defense," Miles Plumlee said. "It showed up in the little things. We got loose balls, offensive boards and we just put the game away."
Mason Plumlee finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Miles had the most rebounds of any player in Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski's 37-year career.
"And I told Miles, `I've coached some pretty good players,"' Krzyzewski quipped.
It was the first time both Plumlee brothers had double-doubles in the same game during their three seasons together at Duke. Their 32 combined rebounds were one fewer than the entire Maryland team.
Seth Curry scored 19 points to help the Blue Devils (21-4, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) pull away. They followed up their last-second victory over rival North Carolina with their fifth straight victory in the series. Austin Rivers, whose buzzer-beating 3 gave Duke an 85-84 victory over the Tar Heels, finished with 11 points for the Blue Devils.
Mychal Parker added 12 points for Maryland.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
