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Vasquez leads Maryland to upset of Wake Forest

Mar 14, 2009 - 4:08 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- With every Wake Forest miss, the Maryland Terrapins got a little closer to the NCAA tournament.

They might be in now.

Greivis Vasquez scored 22 points Friday night and the Terrapins advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament with a crucial 75-64 upset of No. 8 Wake Forest, which was doomed by its worst shooting performance of the season.

Maryland (20-12) pulled away from a 36-31 halftime lead as the Demon Deacons (24-6) missed time and time again, finishing at 29.7 percent from the field. The Terps made up for a 65-63 loss to Wake Forest 10 days earlier and won for the second straight night, following up a win over North Carolina State.

Before the tournament, coach Gary Williams said two wins should put Maryland in "good shape." The Terps moved on to face No. 9 Duke or Boston College in the semis Saturday, giving them yet another chance to impress the NCAA tournament selection committee.

Williams said he made up "Win 2" T-shirts for his team to wear in Atlanta. He was only kidding, but that surely was the message he tried to convey to his team.

"I just wanted our players to understand if we won two, we would be in pretty good shape," he said. "Now if we don't win tomorrow, it's not because we came with the 'Win 2' T-shirts."

James Johnson led Wake Forest with 20 points. The Demon Deacons have already done plenty to land an NCAA bid, but the one-and-done showing at the Georgia Dome could hurt their seeding.

"This was a wake-up call for us," Johnson said. "We deserve to be in the tournament, and we can prove ourselves there. I know our guys are going to bounce back."

Maryland doesn't want to stop now. The Terps know two wins might be enough to get them into the 65-team field, but three would be even better.

"I'm not sure," Eric Hayes said. "All we can do is go out tomorrow and try to get another win on our resume."

The Terps essentially locked up the game with a 14-2 spurt at the start of the second half. A decisive series of 3-pointers finished off the run.

L.D. Williams missed a trey from the corner for Wake Forest. Vasquez hit one at the other end for Maryland. Johnson clanked one from outside the arc. The Terps' Sean Mosley swished a long-range shot.

Wake Forest called timeout, then failed to get off a shot before the 35-second clock expired. Landon Milbourne hit a turnaround jumper to give Maryland its biggest lead, 50-33, with 15 minutes remaining.

"We had some tough times," Vasquez said. "It's about time for something to pay off."

The Demon Deacons didn't get closer than eight points the rest of the way, finishing 22-of-74 from the field. It was their worst shooting percentage of the season, eclipsing a 31.7 percent showing against Miami in early February.

Among the starters, Al-Farouq Aminu was 2-of-12, Jeff Teague made only 3-of-13, Williams went 3-of-9 and Chas McFarland missed all four of his shots. Johnson connected on half of his 18 attempts, but the starters still combined for a dismal 17-of-56.

The Demon Deacons were bad no matter where they shot. They made only 3-of-25 outside the arc, a 12 percent success rate that also was their worst of the season.

In the second half, Wake Forest put up 15 3-pointers in an increasingly futile attempt to slice into Maryland's lead. Only one went in.

Maryland tried to cut off the lanes to the basket, intent on making Wake Forest put up more 3s than usual. The Demon Deacons had been averaging just over 12 attempts per game, fewest in the ACC, but they more than doubled that output against the Terps.

"They're a great driving team," Williams said. "We gambled a little bit that they wouldn't have a hot day from the 3-point line."

Ishmael Smith hit Wake's only trey of the second half, closing the gap to 64-56 with 4:54 remaining. But Dave Neal countered with a 3-pointer of his own, ending any thought of a comeback. Maryland made 6-of-16 from long range.

"I knew our team needed a big play," Neal said. "It was a huge three for us. It kind of gave our team a little momentum going to the end of the game. I was so excited after I hit it."

"So was I," Williams chimed in.

The Terps turned it over 17 times, but the sloppiness didn't hurt them. Vasquez usually came up with the big shot or pass when his team needed it, and the Venezuelan got plenty of help from the supporting cast. Mosley had 12 points, Eric Hayes 11 and Neal 10. Milbourne worked the boards, coming up with 10 rebounds.

Johnson was basically a one-man show for Wake Forest. He also has led his team with 12 rebounds, but Teague, with 11 points, was the only other player in double figures. No one else had more than seven rebounds.

"We have guys who can get in the lane, but it didn't happen tonight," Johnson said. "Maryland just played good defense."