Maryland Athletics - University of Maryland Official Athletic Site - Events
Jan. 19, 1997
Profit's Three Brings Down the Demon Deacons
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Laron Profit's three-pointer from the right wing as time expired lifted 11th-ranked Maryland to a 54-51 upset of number two Wake Forest, handing the Demon Deacons their first loss of the season.
After Tim Duncan hit two free throws with 17 seconds to play to tie the game, Profit passed the ball to Keith Booth on the right side. Booth tried to go baseline on Ricky Peral, but was cut off. He turned in mid-air and kicked the ball out to Profit, who was on the right wing and released a shot that hit nothing but net.
The victory by the Terrapins (15-2, 5-1 ACC) lifted them into a tie for second in the conference with Wake Forest (13-1, 5-1). Both schools are one-half game behind Clemson, which likely will move into second in the poll released Monday.
Sarunas Jasikevicius scored 19 points and Profit added 11 for Maryland, which bounced back from its 67-63 home loss to Clemson on Wednesday. The Terrapins blew a 19-point first half lead and a seven-point lead in the final two minutes before being bailed out by Profit's three-pointer.
Duncan finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocked shots for the Demon Deacons, who had their 25-game home winning streak snapped. Top-ranked Kansas is the nation's lone unbeaten team.
Maryland leads the all-time series, 48-46.
Jasikevicius gave Maryland a seemingly safe 51-44 lead with just over two minutes remaining after hitting a 15-footer from the right baseline. After Jerry Braswell missed a three-pointer for Wake Forest, Keith Booth failed to extend the lead further when he missed two free throws with 1:59 to play.
Braswell responded with a three-pointer from the right wing to make it 51-47. Terrell Stokes was called for traveling and Duncan had a basket in the post to draw the Deacons within two with 64 seconds left. Maryland called an isolation play for Stokes on its next possession, but he missed a 17-footer.
Duncan was then fouled by Obinna Ekezie as he began his post move. The Terrapins called timeout before Duncan shot his free throws.
Maryland stormed out of the gate, taking it to the host Deacons with a 10-0 run over the first six minutes. Wake trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half, but Duncan began to find his groove, pulling the Demon Deacons within 32-20 at halftime with 11 points. Wake Forest shot just 5-of-23 from the field in the first half and 1-of-8 from three-point range.
But as cold as Wake Forest was in the first half, it started the second half equally hot. Duncan keyed a 16-0 run to open the half, scoring seven points, and the Deacons took a 36-32 lead after Ricky Peral hit a seven-footer with 14:40 remaining.
Layups by Profit and Stokes tied the game before Peral gave the Deacons a 38-36 lead on a layup. Stokes drilled a three-pointer from the right wing, triggering a 13-4 burst. Maryland opened a 49-42 lead after Jasikevicius made three straight free throws.
The Terps shot 36 percent (17-of-53) from the field and 4-of-10 from three-point range. Wake Forest shot only 32 percent (17-of-53) and a woeful 3-of-19 from behind the arc.
MARYLAND (54)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Booth 39 2-14 4-6 1-12 2 3 8
Profit 33 5-16 0-1 1-4 2 0 11
Ekezie 24 1-2 0-2 0-5 0 5 2
Jasikevicius 36 5-10 7-10 0-3 3 1 19
Stokes 36 3-5 0-0 0-5 3 2 7
Elliott 18 2-4 1-2 2-3 0 4 5
Kovarik 13 1-2 0-0 0-2 2 0 2
Watkins 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
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TOTALS 200 19-53 12-21 4-34 12 17 54
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Percentages: FG-.358, FT-.571. 3-Point Goals:
4-10, .400 (Booth 0-2, Profit 1-2, Jasikevicius
2-5, Stokes 1-1). Team rebounds: 6. Blocked
shots: 4 (Stokes 2, Ekezie, Jasikevicius).
Turnovers: 19 (Stokes 5, Profit 4, Booth 3,
Elliott 2, Jasikevicius 2, Kovarik 2, Ekezie).
Steals: 9 (Booth 3, Stokes 3, Profit 2,
Jasikevicius).
WAKE FOREST (51)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Peral 38 4-10 2-2 1-3 3 3 10
Allen 13 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 3 3
Duncan 40 8-13 10-12 2-13 4 3 26
Braswell 30 2-10 1-2 0-1 3 4 6
Rutland 40 1-10 0-0 0-3 0 1 3
Amonett 10 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
Woods 7 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0
Goolsby 22 1-6 0-0 3-8 0 2 3
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TOTALS 200 17-53 14-18 7-31 10 17 51
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Percentages: FG-.321, FT-.778. 3-Point Goals:
3-19, .158 (Peral 0-2, Duncan 0-1, Braswell 1-3,
Rutland 1-9, Goolsby 1-4). Team rebounds: 3.
Blocked shots: 12 (Duncan 9, Peral 3). Turnovers:
17 (Rutland 6, Peral 5, Duncan 3, Amonett,
Braswell, Goolsby). Steals: 9 (Peral 3, Duncan 2,
Allen, Amonett, Goolsby, Rutland).
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Maryland 32 22 - 54
Wake Forest 20 31 - 51
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Technical fouls: Wake Forest 1 (Team). A:
14,407. Officials: Dick Paparo, Carl Hess, Duke
Edsall.
