No. 2 Maryland 90, No. 20/21 Wake Forest 89: Postgame Notes

Feb. 24, 2002

The 90-89 come-from-behind victory gives the Terrapins' (No. 2 AP/No. 2 USA Today) the best start ever in the history of Maryland basketball at 23-3. It eclipses the previous school-record mark set by the 1975 Terps, who began the year 22-3 en route to a 24-5 overall record and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight.

Maryland also extends its best-ever ACC start to 13-1, keeping the Terps in position to capture their first outright ACC regular season championship since 1980. The Terps have now won a school-record 10 ACC games in a row.

The victory puts Maryland on a 10-game win streak and extends the Terrapins' 2001-02 Cole Field House win streak to 14 (17 in all dating to last season), marking the longest season-opening home court victory stretch since the 1994-95 Terps went a perfect 16-0 at home.

Maryland head coach Gary Williams has now claimed 112 ACC victories, placing him sixth outright among all-time ACC coaches. Sunday's win saw Williams surpass former Virginia head coach Terry Holland, who finished his career with 111 wins in the conference. Williams trails only Charles "Lefty"Driesell (Maryland), Bobby Cremins (Georgia Tech), Frank McGuire (North Carolina), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) and Dean Smith (North Carolina) on the all-time list.

The Terps and Demon Deacons combined for 102 first-half points in a sharp-shooting opening stanza to mark the highest scoring half in any Maryland basketball game this season (besting the Terps' 52-48 advantage (total of 100 points) over Clemson at Cole on Jan. 20). The Terrapins shot a respectable 18-of-32 (.563) from the field in the first half, but the Demon Deacons started even hotter. Wake finished the opening stanza 22-of-35 (.629) to command a 10-point (56-46) lead at the break, with senior Craig Dawson leading the way with 22 points on 8-of-9 (.888) shooting (6-of-7 (.857) from beyond the 3-point arc). It was the first time Maryland trailed at the half all season in Cole Field House.

Maryland, which hadn't led since 8:26 in the first half, went on a 10-2 run to start the second period, and eventually knotted the contest on a Steve Blake lay-up at 10:51. A pair of Juan Dixon free throws at 2:13 tied the contest once again, a Byron Mouton free throw at 1:51 gave the Terps their first lead in the second half. Dixon's free throw after the Wake technical foul at 0:01 put the Terps up for good. Broderick Hicks' shot attempt with no time on the clock fell short.

The one-point difference marked the closest contest, win or loss, for the Terps this season. Maryland's four-point road win at Virginia (Jan. 31) was the previous closest contest.

In the final home game before next Sunday's "Senior Day" at Cole, Terp upperclassmen Lonny Baxter, Byron Mouton and Juan Dixon totaled 40 of the Terps' 46 points in the first half and went on to combine for 64 for the game. Baxter and Dixon's jersey numbers were honored prior to the start of Sunday's game, and the careers of all three along with walk-on Earl Badu will be celebrated next Sunday as the Terps take on Virginia in the final game of basketball at Cole Field House.

Senior Naismith and Wooden awards finalist Lonny Baxter contributed 19 of his season-high tying 25 points in the first half, and also finished with eight rebounds. The ACC's leading shot-blocker (2.0 bpg) swatted three shots and finished the game shooting 11-of-13 (.846) from the field.

Juan Dixon totaled 20 points to mark his 44th straight game of double-figure scoring -- a streak that leads the ACC and ranks third in the nation. His new total of 2,033 career points places him third all-time in Maryland scoring history, as he passed legends John Lucas (2,015 from 1973-76) and Adrian Branch (2,017 from 1978-81).

Senior swingman Byron Mouton scored 11 first-half points en route to 19 for the game, marking his seventh straight game of double-figure scoring. He averages 16.1 points over the last eight games, all of which counted toward the Terps' record-setting ACC slate.

The newly-crowned all-time Terp leader in assists with 671 for his career, junior Steve Blake dished out 11 second-half assists to spark the Terps' late charge. Blake finished the game with a season-high tying 13 helpers, which he has totaled three times this season. His career high is 14.

With 11 of his 13 points in the second half and nine second-stanza rebounds, dynamic sophomore Chris Wilcox picked up his game late to help lift the Terps to the victory.

No. 2 Maryland 90, No. 20/21 Wake Forest 89: Postgame Notes

Related News

Related Videos

Footer