Jan. 15, 2006

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Mike Jones scored 22 points, D.J. Strawberry added a career-high 18, and No. 21/23 Maryland kept Wake Forest winless in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 90-86 victory Sunday night.

Up by 17 points with 9:44 left, Maryland appeared poised to end its two-game losing streak with an easy win over Wake Forest.

Justin Gray had other ideas.

Gray scored a career-high 38 points, including a 3-pointer that got the Demon Deacons within two with 2.9 seconds to go. But the Terrapins survived the comeback and kept Wake Forest winless in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 90-86 victory Sunday night.

"We got them to miss some shots and we got a couple of steals," Gray said. "If we had started the game like that, we wouldn't have gotten down by 17. It's hard to come back from 17 against anybody, but especially at Maryland."

Jones scored 22 points for the Terrapins and Strawberry hit two clinching free throws after Gray hit his final shot.

"Justin Gray is just a phenomenal player. We've watched so much film on him, but it's nothing like watching him in person," Strawberry said. "He hits unbelievable shots. He wouldn't go away tonight, and kept his team in it until the end."

Nik Caner-Medley scored 17 points to help the Terrapins (12-4, 2-2) bounce back from losses at Miami and Duke. Maryland placed five players in double figures, led by Jones, whose previous high in an ACC game was 15 points.

"If you're a player and you're open, you have to take the shot," Jones said. "Tonight that happened. A lot of us got really good shots."

As did Gray. The senior guard went 12-for-20 from the field, including 7-for-11 from 3-point range, but it wasn't enough to bring the Demon Deacons all the way back.

"I thought he played with a big heart," Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said. "A lot of our guys are playing inconsistently, but he is not one of them."

Wake Forest center Eric Williams, who had 22 points and 20 rebounds on Wednesday at Clemson, picked up three fouls in the opening 15 minutes and finished with 10 points and eight boards in 28 minutes.

The last time Wake Forest (11-5, 0-3) lost its first three ACC games was in 1990.

"No one's going to feel sorry for us," Prosser said. "This past week hasn't been great for the Deacs."

Chris McCray opened the second half with a 3-pointer and a dunk to give Maryland a 46-38 lead. It was 48-42 before James Gist hit a jumper to spark a 6-0 spurt that put the Terrapins up by 12.

Minutes later, McCray turned a turnover into a dunk, then added a 3-pointer to make it 61-46.

It was 65-48 before the Demon Deacons used a 13-2 run to get within six. Sterling Ledbetter then scored for Maryland, and after Wake Forest missed twice on the other end, Jones made two free throws for a 10-point cushion with 4:47 remaining.

It turned out to be barely enough.

"You just can't get down 16, 17 points. It's hard to come back unless you play almost perfectly and they play poorly," Prosser said. "We had some great possessions and some key stops, but they got a couple of key rebounds."

Gray scored 21 in the first half, but the Terrapins got 16 from Jones in taking a 41-38 lead.

Maryland, which fell behind 13-0 against Miami and 7-0 at Duke, was unable to break the pattern against Wake Forest. A four-point play by Gray and a 3-pointer by Shamaine Dukes gave the Demon Deacons a 7-1 lead.

It was 9-3 before a three-point play by Ekene Ibekwe launched a 10-0 run that gave Maryland its first lead in three games.