Jan. 21, 2004

Box Score| Quotes| Notes

By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Seeking to avoid another upset loss at Maryland, top-ranked Duke missed 47 field goal attempts in shooting 34 percent.

Distressing numbers, except that the Blue Devils retrieved several of those misfires and turned them into baskets.

J.J. Redick scored a season-high 26 points, and the Blue Devils dominated the boards in a 68-60 victory Wednesday night.

Luol Deng had 13 points and 12 rebounds to help Duke (15-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) win its 12th straight. It was the third time in three years the Blue Devils visited Maryland as the No. 1 team, and the first time they escaped with a victory.

"Last year, we kind of quit and let them do whatever they wanted," Duke guard Chris Duhon said. "We knew they were going to make their runs, and they made them. We were able to hold them off at the end, though, and I think that shows this team is maturing."

The key was rebounding. Duke held a 49-34 edge on the boards, and had as many offensive rebounds (24) as the Terrapins had on defense.

"Lots of times they'd miss one or two shots and get the third one," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "That kills you."

Nik Caner-Medley led Maryland (10-5, 1-3) with 21 points, including 13 in the final 10 minutes. The Terrapins were seeking to become the eighth team in NCAA history to beat two No. 1 teams in same season - they defeated then-No. 1 Florida last month - but Maryland never led after Redick hit a 3-pointer to put Duke up 7-6.

"We played well at times and did some good things," Williams said, "but against a team like Duke you have to play well for more than half the game."

The Blue Devils held a 14-point lead with 16:56 left, but the Terrapins closed to 58-55 on a 3-pointer by Caner-Medley with 4:55 remaining. Redick then hit a 3-pointer and Duhon made a layup, but the Terrapins again closed to three with 1:40 to go.

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After a Duke miss, Redick stripped D.J. Strawberry of the ball and made two foul shots for a 65-60 lead. Redick then clinched it with two free throws with 18 seconds left.

"If this was last year's team, when they made that run we'd have probably just gave up and they would have been able to win," Duhon said. "We made some defensive stops; we had the will to win today."

Redick made all nine of his free throws; in comparison, Maryland finished 7-for-9 at the line.

It was the lowest-scoring game between the teams since 1982.

"Baskets were very difficult to come by because of the defense by both teams," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Duke dominated the boards in the early going and led by 12 points with 61 seconds left in the first half before Maryland used a 6-0 run to close to 35-29.

The Blue Devils had assists on 12 of their 13 baskets before halftime and outrebounded the Terps 26-18.

Redick hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points to stake Duke to a 23-10 lead with 13 minutes elapsed. Maryland missed 18 of its first 23 shots and went scoreless for nearly 5 minutes while the Blue Devils went on an 11-0 run.

It was 12-10 before Redick connected from long range, Deng followed with two straight dunks, and Daniel Ewing added a basket and two free throws to put Duke up by 13.

Minutes later, a dunk by Duke forward Shelden Williams made it 30-16.