Maryland Upsets No. 2 Duke 83-81
By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Seth Allen broke a tie by making two free throws with 2.8 seconds left, and Maryland stunned No. 2 Duke 83-81 Saturday night to end a six-game skid against its bitter rival.
As the final horn sounded, thousands of fans from the sellout crowd charged onto the court to celebrate the Terrapins' most significant victory of the season. Maryland had lost 12 of 13 against Duke, including a 20-point embarrassment last month.
The Terrapins (18-7, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) did not trail after halftime but never could pull away from the weary Blue Devils, who were playing their third game in a seven-day span.
Duke (22-3, 9-3) trailed by 10 with 3:39 left but pulled even when Rasheed Sulaimon made three foul shots with 16.7 seconds to go. Quinn Cook then fouled Allen as the freshman guard drove through the lane, and Allen made both shots.
After a Duke timeout, Cook's desperation 30-footer bounced off the back rim. Chaos ensued as the fans immediately rushed the court.
Alex Len had 19 points and nine rebounds for Maryland, and Allen scored 16.
Duke had its six-game winning streak end. Seth Curry scored 25 and Cook added 18. But 6-foot-10 center Mason Plumlee (four points, three rebounds) was completely outplayed by the 7-1 Len, who went 6 for 8 from the field and 7 for 8 at the foul line.
Maryland committed a whopping 26 turnovers, eight by Allen. The Terrapins shot an impressive 60 percent from the floor and finished with a 40-20 rebounding advantage.
Maryland played without reserve guard Pe'Shon Howard, who was suspended for violating team rules. Despite being demoted from his starting role last month, Howard still leads the Terrapins in assists.
Maryland led 66-63 before Allen scored on a drive. Dez Wells then stole the ball from Cook and went in for a dunk for a seven-point lead with 5:20 left. After the Blue Devils closed to 71-63, James Padgett made a layup for Maryland and Wells made two foul shots for a 10-point cushion.
The crowd increased its volume with every subsequent basket by the Terrapins, whose previous win over Duke came in March 2010, when Greivis Vasquez celebrated Senior Night with a 20-point performance.
In this one, it was 80-72 before Curry made two straight 3-pointers to bring Duke to 80-78 with just under a minute left. After Wells was called for a charge, Curry had a 15-footer bounce in and out of the basket.
It was that kind of night for the Blue Devils.
This score was 39 all before Allen hit a 3-pointer to spark a 10-2 run that included five points from freshman Shaquille Cleare. It was 53-43 before Curry bagged a 3-pointer, Alex Murphy made a layup and Curry drove the lane following Maryland's third turnover in a 60-second span.
That cut the gap to three points, and seconds after a 3-pointer by Cook got the Blue Devils to 55-53.
After the Terrapins went up by six, they committed turnovers on three straight possessions. That enabled Duke to close to 59-57 on a dunk by Murphy, but four straight free throws by Len gave Maryland a 64-59 advantage with 7:20 remaining.
The first half featured two ties, 10 lead changes and ended with the Terrapins up 35-34.
Maryland offset its 10 turnovers by shooting 56 percent from the floor and outrebounding Duke 17-10. Len had eight points on 4-for-4 shooting and contributed a team-high four rebounds.
Curry hit his first six shots and the Blue Devils had only one turnover over the first 11 minutes. Still Duke trailed 20-19 before Curry made two straight shots and Plumlee scored on an alley-oop dunk.
Curry (14 points) was one of only four Duke players to score before halftime. Josh Hairston had nine and Quinn added seven.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
