DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Jason Williams has had a lot of great games for No. 1 Duke.
His output against Maryland on Thursday night was high on the list.
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Jason Williams had 34 points,
eight assists and seven
rebounds for the Blue Devils. |
The third-ranked Terrapins were unable to stop the All-American guard, who scored
34 points as the Blue Devils took over first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference
with a 99-78 victory.
"Jason was huge," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He just gave us the confidence.
He played like a great player. A lot of kids put up numbers, but he did it in a great
game." Williams had struggled some against the Terrapins in his career, shooting 39
percent in seven previous outings, but he was on this time.
In addition to shooting 13-for-23 from the field, Williams had eight assists, seven
rebounds and three steals.
"More than scoring or assists, I did a good job on defense," he said. "I am getting a
lot better with that. That's the part of my game that's improving a lot."
Williams helped lead a defensive charge that forced Maryland into 36 percent
shooting in the second half and 21 turnovers that led to 30 points for the Blue Devils
(15-1, 4-1).
"You've got to score when you play Duke," Maryland coach Gary Williams said when
asked about his team's second-half collapse. "The last two years we scored enough.
"In the first half we scored consistently and we were in the game," he added. "Then we
came out in the second half and I didn't think our energy level was as good as in the
first half and you pay for it here."
Lonny Baxter led Maryland (13-3, 3-1) with 24 points before fouling out with 3:46
left and his team down 15 points.
Juan Dixon, who was averaging 25.3 points in his previous three ACC games, was
held to 10 points by Duke defensive specialist Dahntay Jones.
The Terrapins were trying to become just the third team since 1985 to beat the Blue
Devils three straight times at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but Williams put a stop to
that.
After an incredible 30 lead changes in the opening 23 minutes, Williams scored seven
points in a one-minute span, getting two driving layups and a 3-pointer as Duke
opened the second half with scores on eight straight possessions to take the lead for
good and improve to 17-4 in its last 21 games against Top 10 teams.
Mike Dunleavy, who scored just two first-half points, was also a hero in the second
half, scoring 19 points. Carlos Boozer added 20 for the Blue Devils.
"He wanted the ball," Krzyzewski said of Dunleavy. "There were a lot of matchups in
this game and Mike finally took advantage of his."
Duke led 73-63 with 12:39 left before the Terrapins closed within three two minutes
later. But Dunleavy hit a bank shot, a 3-pointer and Williams turned a Maryland
turnover into a slam dunk to push the lead back to 10.
About a minute later, Dunleavy made two free throws and hit a long 3-pointer as
Maryland fell behind again by double digits and then faded down the stretch.
"They were really manhandling us on the boards," Jason Williams said. "But during
that one stretch we were fighting and scraping and getting a lot of loose balls and it
opened up a lot of transition plays and that really opened up the game for us."
The top two scoring teams in the ACC combined to score 97 points in the first half
as the lead changed hands 25 times as neither team could pull away.
The players didn't shake hands or look each other in the eye before the opening tip,
and it was clear both were ready out of the gate.
The lead changed hands 10 times before the first television timeout as the Blue
Devils and Terrapins at one point combined to score on 11 of 13 possessions as the
game raced at a fever pitch.
The largest lead of the opening half was seven points by Duke as Williams took
control early, scoring 15 points over the first 11:15.
The Terrapins got a lift late in the half when reserve Ryan Randle, who is averaging
4.2 points, scored seven points over the final 1:48 as Maryland went to the locker
room with a one-point lead and once again feeling good about itself in Cameron.
But for the fifth straight time in the intense series, the team that trailed at halftime
won.
`We beat a hell of a team," Krzyzewski said. "They are going to be in the thick of it
until the very end. They're that good."
"We put this behind us in the locker room," Gary Williams said. "We're getting ready
for Sunday. That's the way it has got to be. This is just the fourth league game and
we've got to keep things in perspective. The next 12 are very important to us." |