Maryland 82, Wake Forest 60
ATLANTA -- Terrell Stoglin scored 25 points, including nine straight in a decisive 20-4 run to open the second half, and Maryland ran past Wake Forest 82-60 on Thursday in the lopsided opening game of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Wake Forest led 28-27 late in the first half before Stoglin's basket capped a 9-0 run that helped give Maryland a 36-31 lead at halftime. The Terrapins pulled away in the opening minutes of the second half.
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Maryland (17-14) will play No. 1 seed North Carolina in Friday's first quarterfinal game. The Tar Heels swept two regular-season games against Maryland.
Stoglin, the ACC's leading scorer with his average of 21.2 points, had two 3-pointers and hit three free throws when fouled on another 3-point attempt in the 20-4 run, which gave the Terrapins a 56-35 lead.
Freshman Nick Faust had a career-high 19 points and James Padgett had 10 for Maryland, which led 79-50 before pulling its starters.
Stoglin had seven rebounds and four assists.
After winning only four ACC games in the regular season, Wake Forest (13-18) finished a disappointing second season under coach Jeff Bzdelik.
Bzdelik called three timeouts in the first nine minutes of the second half but couldn't find a way to stop the Terrapins.
Travis McKie had 22 points to lead the Demon Deacons, who lacked balance in their scoring. Three players combined for all but eight points.
Nikita Mescheriakov had 16 points before fouling out with 7:12 remaining. C.J. Harris had 14 points.
Maryland is the only team other than Duke and North Carolina to win the tournament since 1997, but the Terrapins are a longshot as the No. 8 seed. The Terrapins won the 2004 tournament.
Harris had 13 points in the first half, including a late 3-pointer that ended the 9-0 run for Maryland.
Led by the super-quick and aggressive Stoglin, the Terrapins ran at every opportunity and had a 12-5 edge in fast-break points in the first half.
Wake Forest guard Tony Chennault fouled out with 5:57 remaining. He did not score and was 0-for-6 from the field.