Heard loud and clear

With his team facing a two-point deficit and time quickly slipping away, forward James Padgett rose up against a wall of Miami defenders and willed himself to an offensive rebound, then an emphatic putback.

On the next possession, guard Nick Faust knocked the ball from the steady hand of Miami guard Durand Scott, then found it before the desperate team playing for an NCAA Tournament berth could get another chance.

On a night that begun by honoring Johnny Rhodes, the ACC's career steals leader, it was perhaps fitting that the Terrapins men's basketball team walked off Comcast Center last night having stolen a victory from the Hurricanes, scoring 14 of the game's last 18 points in a dramatic 75-70 win.

Guard Terrell Stoglin had a game-high 20, while Faust had eight points, eight rebounds and four assists to go along with his late steal. But Padgett's play pushed the Terps (16-11, 6-7 ACC) over the edge.

"I just wanted to go after it, and I managed to jump over everybody else and grab it and put it in," Padgett said of the late-game rebound and field goal, which he added to with a free throw after a Hurricanes foul.

Said Turgeon: "I've been all over my post guys and they're all such nice guys. … Between the lines, you've got to be tougher. I thought James played with great toughness."

After Miami guard DeQuan Jones hit one of two free throws to put the Hurricanes (16-10, 7-6) up five, Turgeon called a 30-second timeout with 1:47 left in the game. His play call out of the timeout fell apart, leaving Terps forward Sean Mosley at the top of the key without much help.

The senior, though, stepped up and knocked down a 3-pointer. On the following possession, forward Ashton Pankey blocked Jones on a putback attempt to give the team a chance to tie or take the lead.

Pankey missed the game-tying attempt on the other end, but Padgett (career-high 16 points), out of nowhere, was there to follow it up. His free throw gave the Terps a 67-66 lead with 44 seconds remaining.

"It was just a huge momentum change for us," Mosley said. "We knew after that we just had to defend, get rebounds and step up to the free-throw line and hit shots."

Faust made the defensive play of the game when he stripped Scott as he attempted a crossover move with 30 seconds left. The Hurricanes turned the ball over on the next possession, throwing a pass out of bounds, and the Terps capitalized on the mistakes by hitting their last nine free throws to take the win.

"I think it pulls us together," Mosley said. "Knowing that we did this as a team makes this feel so much better."

The win avenged the Terps' loss in Coral Gables, Fla., earlier this month, when they overcame a 16-point deficit only to fall in double overtime.

"Last time we had them down to the wire and we let it slip away," Faust said. "But this time we got it done. It was a great win."

The Terps started quickly last night, building a 13-3 lead powered by Padgett and Mosley. The two combined to hit their first five shots, and Stoglin also sank an early 3-pointer.

But Miami guard Malcolm Grant drew two early fouls on Faust and then went on an 8-0 run by himself. Overall, the Hurricanes used a 14-1 run to take a 26-23 lead as the Terps' offense faded.

Padgett hit all four of his first-half shots to lead the team with nine points at the break. Mosley and Stoglin had eight apiece as the Terps faced a 35-31 deficit.

They never backed away, though, and stuck within striking distance the entire second half. They won the rebounding battle, 22-10, in the final 20 minutes, overpowering a bigger Miami frontline.

Afterward, the on-floor excitement was palpable as Turgeon sprinted off the court into the locker room, which he said was filled with hugs for the first time this season. The Terps called last night's victory their best of the season.

"It was real wild," Stoglin said. "Everybody was going crazy in the locker room."

"We had a hugger," Turgeon said. "We haven't had a hugger all year."

ceckard@umdbk.com