COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Duke spoiled Maryland's party - again.
On a night when the Terrapins honored former coach Gary Williams, naming the court at Comcast Center after him, the No. 8 Blue Devils hushed the announced sold-out crowd of 17,950 and dimmed the celebration with a scrappy, if not pretty, 74-61 victory.
The Devils (17-3, 5-1 ACC) decided to attack the smaller Maryland front court and fed 6-foot-10 junior forward Mason Plumlee, who powered for 23 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. There were few easy buckets for him, but he finished in the paint to help lift the Devils to their fourth straight win over the Terps (12-7, 2-3).
Plumlee was everywhere, diving on the floor for loose balls, snatching rebounds and blocking shots. He was determined, he said, to have a better showing than his previous one at Florida State.
"Mason was spectacular tonight," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We went to him and he responded well."
With four minutes remaining, Plumlee secured a pass with his back to the basket and used a spin move inside to score on Maryland redshirt freshman center Alex Len. That handed the Devils a 64-54 lead and from there, they controlled the game.
But before the clock expired, Plumlee kept working to ensure his team's success. He snagged a rebound with three minutes, 45 seconds remaining to hand the Devils a critical possession in a tight game that never appeared secure.
After Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin scored on a jump shot to cut Duke's lead to 64-58, Plumlee became a playmaker. He found 6-11 junior Ryan Kelly in the post with a high-low pass that resulted in a dunk.
Later, as Stoglin stood at the free throw line with a minute remaining, Plumlee cleared the second of two missed free throw attempts.
"The coaches showed a lot of confidence in me," Plumlee said. "They knew I struggled last game. So they came to me early and often."
Plumlee, who came in averaging 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds, added: "Honestly, I just said, 'I'm desperate for a good game.' "
The Devils were without freshman guard Quinn Cook, who remained in Durham while recovering from illness. Cook, who is averaging 5.2 points and 2.1 assists, is also dealing with a bruised knee he suffered in practice last week.
But the Devils had Plumlee.
"Every time we hit him, something good happened," Duke junior Andre Dawkins said.
Kelly added 14 points, while freshman Austin Rivers scored 10 points, including a critical drive-and-score plays early in the second half.
The Devils outscored the Terps 40-28 in the paint and displayed more defensive discipline. Krzyzewski said the team changed its approach defensively on screens to handle the quicker, sharp Maryland motion offense.
Duke entered Wednesday's game with a desire to play better defense, particularly after a 76-73 loss to Florida State on Saturday further exposed the teams struggles this season. A slight defensive breakdown by the Devils late in the game provided the Seminoles an opportunity to play spoiler in the final 4.9 seconds.
Duke has won its past 14 games following a loss and has not lost two games in row since 2009.
Throughout the season, the Devils have answered questions about defense. They own the second-to-last scoring defense (69.2) and worst field goal percentage defense (44.4) in the ACC.
Yet they were able to hold the Terps to 40.9 percent from the field. They collected 26 defensive boards and took two charges.
Krzyzewski said his team showed some maturity in beating a more athletic Maryland team.
"We were getting all dirty," Kelly said of the defensive effort. "If we continue to do little things like that, we'll become a good team."
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