Wake Forest University
Maryland
Deacons Stop Terrapins 85-83 In Overtime
1/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2010
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Wake Forest had jumped out to a four point lead in overtime, but the Terrapins tied the game at 83-83 on a put-back by Jordan Williams with 51 seconds in the period. Smith brought the ball down the court and ran the clock down before driving the lane and hitting one of his patented last-second floaters as the shot clock expired.
Maryland launched two three-point attempts in their last possession, but neither could find the net preserving the victory for Wake. With the win, the Deacons improve to 12-3 (2-1 ACC) while the Terrapins fall to 10-5 (1-1).
Al-Farouq Aminu led the Wake scorers with 24 points to go with 13 rebounds and three blocks for his 10th double-double of the season. Aminu went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe including making 5-of-6 free throws in the last six minutes of the game.
C. J. Harris notched 18 points, one shy of his career-high, including going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Smith was not shy about shooting the ball as he went 8-of-23 from the field for 16 points and also dished out eight assists. Chas McFarland had a solid night scoring eight points and pulling in 12 boards.
Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez led all scorers with 30 points to go with seven assists.
While free-throw shooting may have been an Achilles heel for the Deacons in the early season it was not a problem tonight as Wake went 16-for-20 (80 percent) from the charity stripe - their second consecutive game at 80 percent.
The Demon Deacons shot 46 percent (32-of-70) from the field in the game, while the Terrapins shot 40 percent (28-of-70). Wake Forest was able to capitalize on its speed, as they outscored Maryland 18-2 on the fast break.
Maryland established the first separation of the game as they went on a 7-2 run to take a 21-13 lead. Four different players scored for the Terrapins during the sequence.
Gary Clark reeled in a lob on the fast break made a layup and the ensuing free-throw for an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the Terp lead to 23-18. Al-Farouq Aminu immediately followed with a basket and free throw of his own to draw the Deacons within two points and force a Maryland timeout with 6:35 to play in the half.
Wake Forest took their first lead of the game on a long three-pointer by C. J. Harris to put Wake ahead 28-27. After forcing three short-range Maryland misses on the next possession, an alley-oop from Smith to Aminu extended the Deacon lead to four and brought the crowd to its feet.
Harris gave the Deacons their largest lead of the half when he nailed a three-pointer to put the Deacs ahead 37-32. After Maryland's Adrian Bowie answered back with a three of his own, Harris knocked down another shot from downtown to restore the five point lead with 1:17 to go before the break.
Two free throws apiece from Bowie and Vasquez cut the Wake advantage to one, and the Deacons held for the last shot. Ishmael Smith missed an off-balance three, but Gary Clark grabbed the rebound and was fouled, making both free throws to give Wake a 42-39 halftime lead.
Harris led the scoring for Wake in the opening period, picking up 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Aminu added 11 points and five rebounds. Vasquez led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
The teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the half before Tony Woods threw down a monster dunk to extend Wake's lead to 54-48. Woods followed the basket with a block on Vasquez at the other end.
A fast break layup by Aminu would make Wake's advantage 58-50, but Vasquez answered from distance to cut the Deacon advantage to five points.
Aminu took over in the paint, at one point dunking on three out of four Wake baskets to push the Demon Deacons' lead 64-57 with 7:34 to play.
The Terps would go on an 8-1 run to tie the game at 65-65 with 3:41 remaining in the game. The sequence included Vasquez's primary defender, L. D. Williams, fouling out. Harris and Vasquez then traded three-pointers leaving the score knotted.
Harris drained two free throws before Milbourne found the basket from distance to put Maryland ahead 71-70. Smith restored the Deacon lead with a beautiful up and under move, but Hayes drilled a three to give the Terps a 74-72 advantage with 1:34 remaining in the half.
McFarland scored on a put-back to again tie the game, but a long two-pointer from Vasquez again restored the Maryland lead at 76-74. Aminu's pump fake from behind the arc drew contact from Milbourne and sent him to the line with three shots. After missing the first free throw, Aminu connected on the last two to even the score at 76-76 with 29.3 seconds to play.
The Terrapins held for the last shot, and tight defense forced an off-balance heave from Sean Mosley which clanged off the iron sending the Demon Deacons to their third overtime contest in four games.
Maryland won the overtime tip and Vasquez scored on a scoop shot to give the Terps an early 78-76 lead. Smith missed a floater as the shot clock expired but Aminu pulled in the offensive board to keep the possession alive. Harris missed a jumper, but Milbourne traveled after pulling in the rebound again giving the ball back to Wake. Aminu was fouled and made both shots to again tie the game.
On Maryland's next possession, Jordan Williams went to the line with two shots but missed both leaving the score tied. Ari Stewart knocked down a mid-range jumper to give Demon Deacons their first lead of the overtime period at 80-78 with 3:09 remaining.
After forcing a Maryland stop, Stewart again nailed a jumper to extend the Wake lead to four points. A Vasquez free throw cut the deficit to three and Mosley then made two from the charity stripe to make the Wake lead 82-81 with 1:55 to play.
Vasquez fouled Aminu on an inbounds play, but he could only convert on one free throw to push the Deacon advantage to two points. The Terrapins once again tied the game on a tip in by Jordan Williams with 51 seconds to play.
The Deacons held the ball to run down the clock and Ishmael Smith drove the lane, hitting an arcing floater with 20 seconds remaining to put Wake ahead 85-83. Vasquez and Mosley attempted game-winning three-pointers as time ticked down, but both bounced off the rim giving Wake Forest the victory.
Wake had defeated Richmond 74-68 in overtime on Dec. 31 and Xavier 96-92 in double-overtime on Jan. 3. They are a now a perfect 3-0 in extra frames this season.
The Deacs will return to action when they travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on Big Four rival Duke on Jan. 17. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Network, and can also be heard on the Wake Forest ISP Sports Radio Network.
