Greivis Vasquez saved his best for last.
And there was much rejoicing.
Vasquez scored 20 points -- in front of his parents up from Venezuela -- including a clutch basket with 37 seconds left, and Maryland (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) beat fourth-ranked Duke 79-72 Wednesday night to move into a tie with the Blue Devils atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
It was the final home game for Vasquez, who was honored with seniors Landon Milbourne and Eric Hayes before the game.
Afterward, all three were mobbed with their teammates as fans rushed the court to celebrate Maryland's first win over Duke in seven tries. After rushing the court, about 1,500 fans continued their celebrations outside the arena in the streets of College Park.
It's tradition when Maryland beats Duke. Some years the celebrations get out of hand. On this night, however, things were not as crazy as they could have been.
Prince George's County Police said 1,500 people caused a disturbance on Route 1 and that officers were pelted with snow and ice by confrontational students. Twenty-seven people were arrested. Their names were turned over to the university to issue any necessary sanctions.
Three people arrested had minor injuries. Some officers also had minor injuries.
Two fires had to be extinguished, including a tree that was ignited outside Montgomery Hall and some trash cans outside McKeldin Mall, according to the Washington Post. A couple of street signs were ripped out of the ground and a Duke jersey was sacrificed to the basketball gods.
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Things turned back to normal at about 2:15 a.m.
What made the fans so gosh-darn excited? Maryland ran off to a 14-point lead in the first half, but Duke fought back and threatened to take over in the second half, but Maryland stayed with them and took control of the game late.
Jordan Williams had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Terrapins (22-7, 12-3), who have won six straight since losing by 21 at Duke on Feb. 13.
Nolan Smith scored 20 for Duke (25-5, 12-3), and Jon Scheyer had 19. The defeat ended the Blue Devils' eight-game winning streak.
The Terps stayed undefeated at home in ACC play while breaking a six-game losing streak to the Blue Devils. If they can defeat reeling border rival Virginia -- nine straight losses -- on Saturday, the Terps clinch at least a tie for the ACC title. If North Carolina remembers it's North Carolina and steps up to beat ultimate rival Duke on Saturday, the Terps would also get the top seed in the ACC Tournament.
