swiseman@heraldsun.com
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Mason Plumlee wanted the ball from the opening tip Wednesday night.
Duke kept delivering it to its junior center and he carried the Blue Devils to victory.
Plumlee’s season-high 23 points keyed a strong night in the post for the No. 8 Blue Devils in a 74-61 ACC basketball win over Maryland at the Comcast Center.
The 6-10 Plumlee added 12 rebounds and four assists, notching his eighth double-double of the season, and drawing high praise from his coach.
“Mason was spectacular tonight,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Plumlee had turned in sub-par performances in Duke’s last two games, combining for 14 points in a win over Wake Forest and a 76-73 loss to Florida State
But with Maryland center Alex Len out of the starting lineup and limited by a sprained ankle, Plumlee was ready to flex his muscles again. He sank 9 of 13 shots and hit all five of his free throws.
“The openings were there and they got me the ball,” Plumlee said. “I kind of struggled the last two games. I was in need of a game like this individually, but more importantly, everybody came to play. We didn’t have any weak links.
With junior forward Ryan Kelly contributing 14 points off the bench, Duke (17-3, 5-1 in ACC) tallied more than half its points (40) in the paint.
That output was particularly necessary on this night. Duke’s normally sharp-shooting guards struggled and the Blue Devils finished 3 of 16 from behind the 3-point line. Duke entered the game making an ACC-best 40.9 percent of its 3-pointers.
But freshman guard Austin Rivers did find a way to contribute 10 points by changing his style. After hitting 1 of 6 shots in the first half (0 for 2 on 3-pointers), Rivers began driving to the basket. He sank his first four shots after halftime..
After Maryland erased Duke’s 37-34 halftime lead with a 7-0 run early in the second half, Rivers responded.
His consecutive baskets on a pair of drives put Duke in front. The Blue Devils boosted their lead to 53-47 as Mason Plumlee scored inside, Seth Curry sank a runner and Plumlee hit a basket and added a free throw.
The Duke run continued when Rivers scored on an aggressive drive to the basket before Kelly sank a 15-foot jump shot at 8:44 for a 57-48 Duke lead.
Maryland, which shot 40.4 percent, was never closer than five the rest of the game.
“the last 16 minutes of the game we played really well,” Krzyzewski said. “The last 10 we got a lot of those scrum balls that were just tough balls to get — rebounds, loose balls.
The Blue Devils pushed the ball inside with regularity from the game’s beginning and took a 37-34 lead at intermission.
Plumlee stood out, scoring 12 first-half points, as Duke tallied 20 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes.
Maryland was able to penetrate the lane for easy baskets of its own in the game’s first seven minutes. The Terrapins hit 6 of their first 10 shots, with two being wide-open dunks, to build an 18-10 lead.
Duke fought back with a boost off the bench from Kelly. The junior forward entered the game and scored seven points to slice Maryland’s lead to 22-19.
After Pe’Shon Howard scored on a drive down the lane to give Maryland a 25-21 lead at 8:46, the Terrapins shooting went cold and Duke took advantage.
While Maryland was going a little more than five minutes without a field goal, Duke used an 8-1 run to move in front.
An Andre Dawkins 3-pointer extended Duke’s lead to 32-28. Tyler Thornton was fouled while scoring on a drive with 1:09 to play in the half. His free throw gave Duke its largest lead of the first half at 37-32.
“Early they were getting any shots they wanted, we felt,” Kelly said. “But guys really stepped up as individuals.”
NOTES — Duke played without freshmen Quinn Cook and Michael Gbinije, who did not travel with the Blue Devils due to illnesses.
Because he was sick with what Krzyzewski described as a stomach illness, the 6-foot Cook was limited to one minute of play in Saturday’s 76-73 loss to Florida State at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He had started at point guard in the previous four games prior to the FSU game.
Cook, a native of nearby Bowie, Md., is averaging 5.2 points and 2.1 assists per game.
Gbinije, a 6-7 forward from Chester, Va., has seen spot duty this season, participating in 12 of Duke’s 19 games. He’s averaging 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.
No. 8 DUKE 74, MARYLAND 61
DUKE|Min|FG-A|FT-A|O-R|A|PF|PTS
Mas Plumlee|31|9-13|5-5|3-12|4|2|23
Mi Plumlee|18|3-4|1-2|1-4|1|2|7
Rivers|38|5-12|0-0|0-5|3|3|10
Dawkins|22|1-6|0-0|0-4|2|1|3
Curry|31|2-9|4-4|3-4|2|1|8
Thornton|29|1-2|5-5|0-0|2|4|7
Hairston|7|1-2|0-0|0-0|0|0|2
Kelly|24|5-7|2-2|1-4|0|4|14
Totals|200|27-55|17-18|10-36|14|17|74
Percentages: FG .491, FT .944. 3-Point Goals: 3-16, .188 (Kelly 2-3, Dawkins 1-5, Thornton 0-1, Rivers 0-3, Curry 0-4). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 5 (Kelly 3, Mas. Plumlee, Mi. Plumlee). Turnovers: 9 (Rivers 3, Curry 2, Dawkins, Mas. Plumlee, Mi. Plumlee, Kelly). Steals: 1 (Rivers). Technical Fouls: None.
MD|Min|FG-A|FT-A|O-R|A|PF|PTS
Mosley|31|2-8|1-2|2-5|3|5|6
Pankey|23|3-6|2-4|5-8|0|4|8
Padgett|30|1-5|4-6|2-3|1|0|6
Stoglin|33|7-14|2-7|0-2|3|3|16
Howard|35|4-10|0-0|1-6|4|2|10
Faust|19|3-8|0-0|2-3|0|1|7
Weijs|5|1-2|0-0|0-0|0|0|2
Parker|12|1-1|2-2|0-1|0|1|4
Len|12|1-3|0-0|0-0|1|2|2
Totals|200|23-57|11-21|13-31|12|18|61
Percentages: FG .404, FT .524. 3-Point Goals: 4-13, .308 (Howard 2-4, Mosley 1-2, Faust 1-3, Stoglin 0-4). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 3 (Len 2, Parker). Turnovers: 8 (Howard 4, Len, Faust, Mosley, Parker). Steals: 2 (Howard, Mosley). Technical Fouls: None.
Duke|37|37—74
Maryland|34|27—61
A—17,950.
Officials—Karl Hess, Roger Ayers, Brian O’Connell.
