Maryland-Wake Forest recap: Terps get back on track

In a game that started rocky for Maryland, the Terps were able to pull out the victory over Wake Forest, 71-60.

The game got off to a solid start for Maryland, as Charles Mitchell finished off a basket on a pass from Seth Allen to get the Terps on the board. Wake Forest seemed lose track of the clock a bit early, being forced into a couple of shot-clock violations.

Mitchell would start the game hitting both of his shots, and Seth Allen hit his first three of the game to open the Terps advantage to 7-4 early on. From there, the Demon Deacons would rattle off a 11-0 run to take an 15-7 lead on the Terps, forcing Mark Turgeon to take a timeout.

Heading into the second TV timeout, Devin Thomas's work on the boards was noticeable, as he had already hauled in five rebounds to that point. It would take until 8:29 left in the first half for Maryland to crack double-digits, thanks to a steal and dunk by Jake Layman, making the score to that point 15-11 Wake Forest.

Nick Faust came down and made a three to pull the score within two, but Wake Forest would answer with a basket of their own. After a flagrant foul called on Devin Thomas, Jake Layman made one of the two possible free throws to make it a 20-17 game. Wells would make a shot to pull the game within one, but Wake answered with a three.

After a three by Nick Faust to make it a 23-22 game, Maryland forced their third shot-clock violation of the half against Wake Forest. Jake Layman hit a big three to put the Terps ahead 25-23, and from there, the Terps would score five more points in the last two minutes to go into the halftime break leading 30-25.

Following the Demon Deacons 11-0 run to jump ahead 15-7, the Terps outscored them 23-10 to end the half.

The second half started out well for the Terps, as they were able to expand their lead to seven, their largest lead up to that point. The Demon Deacons wouldn't go away, however, scoring six unanswered points to close the deficit to one until Seth Allen hit a big three to widen the gap to four points.

Nick Faust would continue his hot shooting in the second half, converting on his first three point attempt to rise his point total to 14. Faust would also show his passing ability, hitting Layman for an open three to expand the lead to 47-37.

Maryland began to take over in the second half, and Roddy Peters helped in that with a basket of his own as well as a dish to Evan Smotrycz for the basket and the foul, giving Maryland a 52-38 lead.

Devin Thomas left the game with a hip injury after colliding with Smotrycz. Thomas left the game with ten rebounds, leaving a void in the middle for Wake Forest for a short period. Thomas returned to the game, but was in obvious pain throughout.

Wake Forest would make a bit of a run at it, trimming the deficit to single-digits, but Faust would hault that with a pair of free throws to get the lead back to 11. After a Travis McKie three and a free throw by Thomas, the Terps lead was trimmed to seven, 56-49.

Dez Wells would finally get into the action late in the second half, bullying his defender down low for a basket.

Maryland finished the game strong, although they did allow a few mini-runs by Wake Forest throughout the game to close the gap. Nick Faust was the leading scorer for the game with 20 points off of the bench.