For Vasquez, Hayes and Milbourne, win over Duke is a storybook ending

As the final second of Greivis Vasquez's home career expired, he threw his hands skyward. The Terrapin men's basketball senior got off two quick hops before being engulfed in a wave of gold-clad students.

Not even the bold Venezuelan could have dared to talk about such a sensational ending, a fitting regular season conclusion to a decorated Terp career.

But as No. 4 Duke trudged toward its Comcast Center locker room, the Terps bounced in celebration after completing their first unbeaten ACC home slate since 2002.

The No. 22 Terps knocked off the Blue Devils 79-72 last night, vaulting the red-hot home team into a first-place tie atop the ACC.

"It's an unbelievable feeling," said Vasquez, who struggled at times in his Comcast Center finale but still scored a team-high 20 points. "I'm just proud of my teammates, and I'm so thankful to be here enjoying this moment."

After a back-and-forth first 18 minutes of the second half, the Terps (22-7, 12-3 ACC) closed on a 12-5 run to defeat Duke (25-5, 12-3) for the first time in seven tries.

Forward Jordan Williams' putback gave the Terps a two-point lead with 1:37 to go, and Vasquez followed with an improbable circus shot. Duke, which missed five of its last six shots, never recovered.

The Terps used a balanced attack with four players in double figures to avenge a blowout loss on Feb. 13 at Cameron Indoor Stadium with their sixth straight win — but first punctuated with a full-scale court rushing.

"You couldn't really ask for a better script than that," said Eric Hayes, who participated in the pregame Senior Night ceremony with Vasquez, Landon Milbourne and player-turned-assistant strength and conditioning coach Jerome Burney.

The Terps, who closed the season 15-1 at home, seized momentum early behind a sellout crowd boosted by students who received "Maryland Gold Rush" T-shirts as part of a promotion. With a plethora of notable Terp figures in attendance, including all-time leading scorer Juan Dixon, the Terps jumped out to an early 10-2 advantage and led by as many as 14 points in the first half.

But the Blue Devils got hot to close the half, nailing three 3-pointers in the final 3:08 of the half as part of a 12-2 run that left the Terps nursing a two-point lead at intermission.

Duke took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer from guard Jon Scheyer on the second half's first possession, but both offenses grew stagnant soon after.

The shooter-friendly first half morphed into a physical second half. The Terps showed more toughness inside than they did when they got beat on the boards in the earlier loss at Duke.
This time, the Terps outrebounded the bigger Blue Devils, 36-35.

"There was a lot of bodies flying around, people diving on the ground, but we were prepared for that," said Milbourne, who finished with five points after struggling with first-half foul trouble. "We knew it was going to be that kind of game, and we just competed with them."

"It was two really good teams fighting each other," coach Gary Williams added.

And down the stretch, Vasquez led the surge, further cementing his case for ACC Player of the Year. In a game broadcast on national television in his homeland, Vasquez shook off a slow start and five turnovers to lift the team when they needed it most. The 6-foot-6 guard scored 13 points in the second half. That total included an acrobatic layup falling away from the basket in the final minute that should go down as one of his more memorable Comcast Center highlights.

"I made it," said Vasquez, who followed up the play by blocking Scheyer's lay-up attempt on the other end. "I'll take the credit, but I was going to take the hit if I woulda missed it. I was gonna go for it."

With the win, the Terps can clinch at least a share of the ACC regular season crown by scoring a road victory at Virginia in Saturday's regular season finale or with a Duke loss in their last regular season game against North Carolina. And they continued to pick up steam as they march toward their third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years.

Those are the longer term effects. But in the immediate minutes after the game, the Terps had a brief chance to enjoy the euphoria of gutting out one of the biggest home games in recent seasons.

"That's the last time I'll ever be in the middle of a rushed floor like that," Milbourne said. "I tried to stay out there as long as I could because it just felt good."

edetweiler@umdbk.com