Shinji blog

Williams leads Maryland past Wake Forest 91-70

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Jordan Williams had 27 points and 15 rebounds, and Maryland defeated lowly Wake Forest 91-70 Saturday to provide coach Gary Williams with a milestone victory.

Coming off an 18-point home loss to Duke, the Terrapins were in desperate need of a feel-good win. That's exactly what they got against Wake Forest, the last-place team in Atlantic Coast Conference.

Maryland (15-8, 5-4) took control before halftime with a pair of 11-point runs, then pulled away in the second half by scoring 13 straight points.

Williams led the Terps with his NCAA-best 20th double-double of the season and Adrian Bowie chipped in with 13 points.

It was the 664th win for Gary Williams, tying him with Hall of Fame coach John Wooden for 22nd on the career list among those who have coached in Division I for at least 10 years.

C.J. Harris led Wake Forest with 17 points and Carson Desrosiers added 11. The Demon Deacons (8-15, 1-7), who have lost 10 of 12 overall, are 0-7 on the road and have lost seven games by at least 20 points.

Wake Forest trailed only 60-50 midway through the second half before Williams and Bowie each made two free throws. Williams followed with a dunk and Cliff Tucker drilled a 3-pointer to start the Terrapins on a 13-point run that made it 73-50 with 7:22 to go.

The Terrapins forced 10 turnovers to claim a 42-30 halftime lead.

Maryland missed seven of its first eight shots and trailed 4-3 before Williams made two straight layups to launch an 11-0 run that put the Terrapins ahead for good. Bowie contributed a 3-pointer to the surge.

The game was nearly nine minutes old before Maryland committed its first turnover. By that time, the Terrapins had already scored five points following four Wake Forest giveaways.

The Demon Deacons closed to 17-13 and 24-19 but couldn't sustain the momentum. A layup by Williams, a 3-pointer by freshman Pe'Shon Howard and a jumper by Terrell Stoglin started another 11-0 spree that made it 35-19.

Maryland made five 3-pointers in the first half, exceeding its total in the previous two games combined. The Terrapins finished 8 of 17 from beyond the arc.