Sunday, April 01, 2001
Duke 95, Maryland 84
Blue Devils give Terrapins late knockout
By Mike Lopresti
Gannett News Service
MINNEAPOLIS — They could play all night. They could play all year. Maryland and Duke. But one had to win when it counted most Saturday night, and one had to finally give up and go home.
And so it finally ended, the last installment of this season's epic rivalry: Duke 95, Maryland 84.
The score misleads. The Blue Devils, down 22 points in the first half, survived another trial by Terrapin fire, catching Maryland in the last seven minutes and then squeezing the life from the game the last two minutes.
It sent Duke, the last of the No.1 seeds, into Monday night's championship game against Arizona.
Four Maryland meetings was enough. But with all that had happened between the two teams this season, through the first three fiery battles, did not matter. Only Saturday night mattered.
What mattered was Duke's persistence, when Shane Battier and Jason Williams shook off bad starts to score 25 and 23 points.
What mattered was Duke's poise when the score was 39-17 in favor of Maryland on the first half.
What mattered was Duke's ability to adapt, on a night the Blue Devils went only 7-for-27 on their beloved 3-pointers. Carlos Boozer's 19 points is an example.
And what mattered was Duke's remarkable nose for the finish line, which has put the Blue Devils in their sixth national title game in 12 years.
“I don't think you could have two better teams or two better coaches,” Battier said of Monday night's showdown.
Duke had taken two of the three games this season against the Terps. Brutal, memorable contests each.
And those were not even in the cauldron of a Final Four. This one was.
Could it be that special, again?
It could. Starting when Maryland's sudden 7-0 lead was quickly pushed to a stunning 23-10 after eight minutes, and then a shocking 39-17 after 13 minutes.
Or when the Terrapins held Battier without a field goal the first 10:45.
Or when they held Williams to four points in the first half.
Or when they didn't allow a Duke 3-pointer the first 13 minutes.
The Blue Devils had to regroup, recover, reconsider their offense.
“We weren't going to get it back in one shot,” Williams said. “It was going to take a series of stops.”
Maryland led 49-38 at the half.
“We told them we weren't calling any more plays,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said of his halftime talk. “I told them just follow your instincts, just be men and just play defense.”
“We were looking to run plays to bail us out,” Battier said. “At that point, the best thing for us to do was play basketball.”
Intermission did not stop the comeback. Barely two minutes into the second half, the lead was down to 54-50.
At 12:15, Chris Duhon's 3-point play cut it to 62-61.
Williams' 3-pointer, his first of the game, gave Duke its first lead, 73-72 with 6:48 left.
“Jason Williams put us on his back for awhile there in the second half,” Krzyzewski said.
“In the second half, I was just playing, having fun,” Williams said.
Maryland got the lead back. Then Duke. Then Maryland. Five times it changed, the last on two Boozer free throws that made it 78-77 with 4:41 left.
Maryland kept pushing, but the Terrapins had not enough muscle left. They had shot 55 percent the first half. They shot 34 percent the second.
Duke smelled the kill. Battier's free throws, two Boozer baskets, the last of the questionable calls against Maryland — after fouling out Lonny Baxter — sealed the issue.
“We didn't take advantage of our opportunities,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said.
The score ballooned at the end, suggesting safety that was never there.
Said Battier: “We were waiting for something to happen to give us a glimmer of hope. We just had to claw our way back into the game.”
NCAA Tournament coverage at Cincinnati.com
MARYLAND (84)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Mouton 18 4-6 1-2 4-7 1 2 9
Morris 20 4-7 1-2 4-8 0 4 10
Baxter 25 2-10 6-8 4-10 0 5 10
Dixon 38 6-17 3-3 2-8 0 2 19
Blake 31 5-8 1-2 1-4 5 4 13
Miller 21 1-4 2-2 1-1 2 1 4
Holden 17 2-4 0-2 3-4 0 4 4
Mardesich 12 3-4 0-0 3-5 1 1 6
Nicholas 12 1-5 5-6 2-3 1 2 7
Wilcox 6 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 29-66 19-27 24-50 10 26 84
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.439, FT-.704. 3-Point Goals:
7-18, .389 (Morris 1-1, Dixon 4-10, Blake 2-4,
Miller 0-3). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 1
(Baxter). Turnovers: 21 (Blake 6, Dixon 4, Morris
4, Baxter 2, Miller 2, Holden, Mouton, Nicholas).
Steals: 4 (Mouton 2, Dixon, Mardesich).
DUKE (95)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Battier 40 6-12 9-11 3-8 2 3 25
Dunleavy 24 2-8 0-0 2-3 2 3 4
Sanders 14 2-4 1-1 3-5 0 2 5
Duhon 33 3-10 3-3 2-2 6 4 10
Williams 33 7-19 8-12 2-3 4 4 23
James 30 4-10 0-0 6-9 1 3 9
Boozer 25 7-8 5-8 1-4 0 4 19
Buckner 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 31-71 26-35 19-34 15 23 95
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.437, FT-.743. 3-Point Goals:
7-27, .259 (Battier 4-7, Dunleavy 0-2, Duhon 1-5,
Williams 1-9, James 1-4). Team rebounds: 1.
Blocked shots: 7 (Battier 4, Sanders 2,
Dunleavy). Turnovers: 7 (Battier 2, Duhon 2,
Dunleavy, James, Williams). Steals: 8 (Duhon 3,
Battier 2, Williams 2, Dunleavy).
__________________________________
Maryland 49 35 - 84
Duke 38 57 - 95
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 45,406. Officials:
David Libbey, Mark Reischling, Ted Hillary.
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Duke 95, Maryland 84
