Against top-ranked Duke, another rankling loss for Terps

DURHAM, N.C. -­­­ As Terrapin men's basketball guard Terrell Stoglin slowly walked up the court in the closing moments of a narrow loss to Duke last night, his senior counterpart Adrian Bowie grabbed his hand and ushered him to the team's huddle.

Stoglin had just missed shots on consecutive possessions, all but icing the Terps' fifth loss of the season at the hands of yet another ranked team.

Still, Bowie showed no disappointment. The Terps had willed themselves to a wire-to-wire game with arguably the nation's finest team.

Continuing a season of narrow losses against ranked opponents, the Terps showed their inexperience and dropped their second straight conference game to the talented Blue Devils, 71-64.

"We came in with the intensity level necessary to compete against Duke," coach Gary Williams said. "We hung in there."

They came within a few shots and turnovers from unseating the best team in the nation, one that hadn't lost in 24 games.

Even when they couldn't shoot to start the game, the Terps (10-5, 0-2 ACC) found a way to keep the No. 1 Blue Devils within reach. At halftime, Duke nursed a one-point lead and fell apart in the opening minutes of the second half, as the Terps sprinted out to seven straight points.

But the Blue Devils (15-0, 2-0) answered with an 11-point run themselves, spearheaded by Seth Curry. The transfer scored nine in just more than three minutes.

"They're the number one team in the country for a reason," forward Jordan Williams said. "We knew they were going to make runs. We stayed with them. They didn't make a huge run to take us out of the game."

With the momentum, the Blue Devils hit a pair of 3-pointers and sank 10 straight free throws to extend the lead to seven with five minutes remaining. As they have in each of their losses this season, the Terps kept within striking distance.

But a smoothly run pick-and-pop play from Duke seniors Nolan Smith and Singler netted a 3-point dagger with under a minute remaining. Singler finished with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Smith added 18 points.

"You just can't afford to make any mistakes," Gary Williams said. "They're both excellent shooters. They don't tire."

Jordan Williams continued his strong season with his ninth straight double-double, putting up 23 points and 13 rebounds. Throughout the game, he was the only Terp with a dependable scoring touch. Guard Cliff Tucker, who came off the bench for the fourth straight game, kept the game close with a hot hand from outside and 14 points

But disappointing performances from players such as Stoglin, who went just 1-for-10 in his first career ACC start, ultimately undid any shots at an upset.

"This is probably the best we've ever played at Duke since I've been at Maryland," Tucker said. "We have to stay positive."

Before Sunday, the Terps had lost by a combined 62 points in their previous two trips to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

But even without former Terp guard Grevis Vasquez, who took the game in from the stands, the Terps showed the intensity needed to knock off any team in the country.

They just couldn't quite finish.

"We held our own," Jordan Williams said. "We played well tonight. We just didn't play well enough. We have to play almost perfect to beat a team like that."

ceckard@umdbk.com