Maryland hands Duke fourth straight loss

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) _ Mike Krzyzewski knows all about winning streaks and dominating the Atlantic Coast Conference. It had been 11 years since Duke's head coach experienced the sensation of losing

Monday, February 12th 2007, 6:26 am

By: News On 6

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) _ Mike Krzyzewski knows all about winning streaks and dominating the Atlantic Coast Conference. It had been 11 years since Duke's head coach experienced the sensation of losing four in a row, however.

He plans to approach the Blue Devils' next game _ Wednesday at Boston College _ in much the same fashion as he always does.

``One thing you have to do when you're a coach or a player is keep a positive attitude, prepare, fight and attempt to win the next time no matter what,'' Krzyzewski said after a 72-60 loss to Maryland on Sunday.

``We've been in that position coming off many wins over the years. Now we're in that position coming off four straight losses. You have to figure it out. The one thing you can't do is feel sorry for yourself.''

James Gist had 16 points and 10 rebounds, freshman Greivis Vasquez scored a season-high 18, and Maryland forced 17 turnovers in handing No. 16 Duke its most lopsided defeat of the season.

The Terrapins (18-7, 4-6) trailed early before taking control with a 29-4 run in the first half, then used a late surge to hold off a comeback bid by the skidding Blue Devils (18-7, 5-6).

In the only other game involving a Top 25 team, Washington beat No. 25 Stanford 64-52.

Josh McRoberts scored 20 points and Greg Paulus had 12 for Duke. The Blue Devils' previous three losses were by a combined nine points, but this turned out to be Duke's most lopsided ACC defeat since a 14-point loss to Wake Forest in February 2003.

``Of the four games, the other three we had a chance to win,'' Krzyzewski said. ``This game, something a little more extraordinary had to happen for us to win.''

Duke's last four-game losing streak was from Jan. 3-13, 1996.

After the final buzzer, the Maryland fans didn't rush the court _ an indication, perhaps, of Duke's fall from elite status.

Or perhaps the fans were just plain worn out after their rush of emotion at the outset, when they backed the Terrapins' enthusiasm with plenty of their own.

``They played with amazing energy, especially at the start of the game,'' Krzyzewski said. ``The crowd, their team ... our team hasn't experienced that level of energy this season and it knocked us back.''

Paulus opened the game with a 15-foot jumper and 3-pointer, but Duke missed seven of its next eight shots and committed seven turnovers while Maryland took control.

After Ekene Ibekwe recharged the crowd by scoring five straight points, Vasquez made a three-point play and a 3-pointer to ignite a 14-0 run that made it 19-7. Paulus snapped the Blue Devils' drought with a jumper, but the Terrapins responded with 10 straight points, including a 3-pointer and a three-point play by Gist, to go up by 20 with 8:54 left in the half.

Duke closed to 58-52 before Ibekwe and Mike Jones had two baskets apiece in a 10-2 spree that made it a 14-point game with 3:33 left.

That was enough to ensure the Terrapins an important victory in their bid to get back into the NCAA tournament after a two-year absence.

``We just hang in there, just play tough and hopefully we'll get a lot more wins down the stretch,'' Maryland coach Gary Williams said. ``At the end of the year, you look back and I'm sure this will be one of the special wins. But you try not to get too high after a game like that. You just get ready for N.C. State (on Wednesday).''

And Duke, in turn, will focus on ending its skid at Boston College.

Asked what must happen for the Blue Devils to turn things around, Krzyzewski said, ``I'll do whatever I can. I'm not going to punt, let's put it that way.''

Washington 64, No. 25 Stanford 52

At Seattle, Spencer Hawes scored 18 points and Jon Brockman added 14 points and 10 rebounds as Washington defeated Stanford.

Washington (16-8, 6-7 Pac-10) kept its flickering NCAA tournament hopes alive by winning for the fifth time in six games. The Huskies have won nine of their last 10 home games against ranked teams.

Stanford's Lawrence Hill scored 15 points after missing all 10 of his shots in Thursday night's loss at No. 14 Washington State. It wasn't enough, as the Cardinal (15-8, 7-5) lost for the third time in four games since beating then-No. 3 UCLA.