In defeat, fool’s gold

The Terrapins men's basketball team seemingly had all the pieces in place to pull off an upset of archrival Duke last night.

The energy of Comcast Center's first sellout this season, the return of former coach Gary Williams and an uncharacteristically poor 3-point shooting effort from the Blue Devils all put an upset within reach.

But the Terps just couldn't shake their offensive inefficiency in the game's final 10 minutes, and No. 8 Duke ran away with a 74-61 victory to spoil the opening night of Gary Williams Court. The Terps have dropped three straight games, and 10 of their past 11 against the Blue Devils.

Duke (17-3, 5-1 ACC), often one of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in the country, had its worst night of the season from behind the arc, hitting just three of its 16 attempts.

The Terps' (12-7, 2-3) defensive game plan opened up Blue Devils forward Mason Plumlee in the paint. The junior forward finished with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds, easily scoring around the basket against the Terps' frontcourt.

"We wanted to keep their guards from shooting 3-point shots the whole game and I think we did a great job doing it, but at the end of the day, [Plumlee] had a great game," guard Sean Mosley said. "One guy can really affect the whole team, and tonight he put the team on his back and pretty much won them the game."

Said coach Mark Turgeon: "We had a game plan and we stuck to it. It kept us around. We knew Mason was a good player and he was the difference."

The Terps' offense stalled in the second half after guard Nick Faust's mid-range jumper with 6:48 left in the game. They would score just five more points the rest of the way, never regaining the momentum they had at the game's start.

"We weren't the toughest team today," Mosley said, "and that's what it boils down to."

The Terps struggled from the free-throw line, where they hit just 11 of their 23 attempts. Guard Terrell Stoglin — the team's most consistent option from the charity stripe — missed two late attempts and five total.

"It's mental toughness," guard Pe'Shon Howard said. "We have to be more focused. It's more of the mindset. The possession you didn't get, the four rebounds carries over to the free throws and the missed layups."

Fueled by the adrenaline of a nearly 18,000-person Comcast Center, the Terps started quickly against the Blue Devils. Forward Ashton Pankey had two early dunks while Mosley and Howard each hit a 3-pointer before the first timeout.

With center Alex Len still ailing from an ankle injury he suffered against Temple on Saturday and sitting with early foul trouble, Duke soon capitalized on its size advantage in the paint.

Terps center Berend Weijs and forward James Padgett struggled to stay in front of Duke's Ryan Kelly, who scored an easy layup and wide-open 3-pointer in his first two minutes on the floor and finished with 14 points.

Despite Duke's consistent scoring, the Terps controlled the game for most of the first half and even led by eight at the 13:16 mark. But they couldn't quite keep up and went 5:15 without a field goal as the Blue Devils seized the lead.

Stoglin had trouble eluding Duke's defense, and often saw double teams when he did have possession. Though the ACC's leading scorer had just four points at halftime, Padgett's layup with one second left in the half narrowed Duke's lead to 37-34 at the break.

The Terps started the second half quickly and ripped off a 7-0 run to regain the lead. Stoglin led the way with three quick jumpers to put them up 43-42, but the sophomore cooled off the rest of the way and missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

In the end, it became more of a rerun of recent Terps-Duke matchups. The Blue Devils controlled the game's final 10 minutes and slowly built a sizable lead by hitting timely shots and playing tough defense against an inexperienced Terps team.

"We wanted to win so bad that it cost us the game," Pankey said. "We just wanted it so bad. [We had] a little nervousness, just rushing going into plays and forcing shots we don't usually force."

The loss leaves the Terps teetering at a crucial point in their season. Postseason hopes continue to dwindle as Turgeon seeks to find consistency from a lineup good enough to handle Duke at one moment and incapable of stopping it at others.