Third time's no charm

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Gary Williams promised one thing about his Terrapin men's basketball team entering its game with Duke on Friday night: "We'll show up." And for the first 30 minutes inside Greensboro Coliseum, they certainly did.

But as they often have against other talented teams this season, the Terps just couldn't sustain it in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.

The No. 2 seed Blue Devils capitalized on a five-minute Terp field-goal drought in the second half to run away with an 87-71 victory, sealing the Terps' fate.

In a tournament at which they hoped to surprise the country with four straight wins en route to an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Terps left quietly following a 16-point rout and just one victory. The Blue Devils have now beaten the Terps in nine of the past 10 games, including three this season.

"It's a tough loss," guard Sean Mosley said, "and it's even harder to talk about."

For most of the game, the Terps looked as if they had enough to pull off an improbable upset against the Blue Devils. They hit their shots, played tight defense on the perimeter and kept up with the game's frantic pace.

And while they held the lead at several points in the first half, the Terps never got over the hump in the second half and stalled whenever they came close. When forward Dino Gregory hit a layup with 10:15 remaining in the game, Duke led by just three, 63-60.

But in a fashion similar to several other losses this season, the Terps fell into a funk. They missed nine straight shots and three free throws in a stretch that lasted more than five minutes.

During one possession, guard Cliff Tucker and forward Jordan Williams combined for four missed shots and three offensive rebounds. Despite numerous chances, the Terps came away empty-handed.

Duke guard Seth Curry took advantage of the opportunity. He scored five straight points and assisted on a Miles Plumlee layup to extend their lead to double-digits.

By the time Tucker hit the second of two free throws to end the scoring drought at the 4:32 mark, Duke had built a big enough lead to hold on for the rest of the game.

"I thought we did a great job matching the intensity at the beginning of the game," Gregory said. "We couldn't really sustain it to beat a good team like that. My guys, we played hard tonight. I'm not really disappointed with how we played. We just came up a little short."

Williams finished with a team-high 16 points and 16 rebounds but hit just two of 10 free throws on the night. He missed his first six from the charity stripe, reviving memories of early-season struggles.

"We really believed we could win this game tonight," coach Gary Williams said. "It really hurts to lose that game. I thought we were in pretty good shape with about 10 minutes left, and to see it go away hurts."

The Terps even had luck on their side, with ACC Player of the Year Nolan Smith playing one of his worst games of the season. He hit just two of his 11 shots and went down with a toe injury midway through the second half.

But forward Kyle Singler picked up the slack and torched the Terps for 29 points, including nine from the free-throw line.

"It's hard to run after him all game and off picks and stuff," said forward Haukur Palsson, who was one of three Terps tasked with guarding the All-American. "You can't give him too much space or he'll shoot it, and you can't get too close because he'll go by you."

Tucker played one of his best games since January, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds. But Stoglin struggled once again against the Blue Devils, hitting just two of 10 shots and finishing with a season-high five turnovers.

"We felt that we would have gotten over this hump and won today," Stoglin said. "We could've won the whole thing."

In the midst of yet another double-digit rout against the Blue Devils, the Terps ultimately accepted the reality of their disappointing season.

"If you watch the game, you know it wasn't a blowout," Gregory said. "I'm proud of our guys, but you don't want to leave this way."

ceckard@umdbk.com