COLLEGE PARK, Md., Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Drew Nicholas scored 24 points and Jamar Smith sparked a key run in the second half Saturday as No. 15 Maryland ended the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils' 12-game winning streak with an 87-72 Atlantic Coast Conference victory.
Duke (12-1, 2-1 ACC) entered the game as the nation's lone unbeaten team after winning its first dozen contests to start the season for the second straight year. The 13th game again tripped up the Blue Devils, who suffered a memorable 77-76 loss to Florida State in their 13th game last season.
Maryland (10-4, 3-1) knocked off a top-rated Duke team at home for the second straight season. Last year's 87-73 triumph was at Cole Field House and this was the first visit by a No. 1 team to the new Comcast Center.
"It's the first time we've had a No. 1 team at Comcast Center," Nicholas said. "It's the first time we've played this hard for 40 minutes."
A basket by Smith with just over 14 minutes left gave Maryland (10-4, 3-1) the lead for good at 55-53. It started a decisive 18-4 run that opened a 14-point cushion.
Smith scored all eight of points in the run, during which Maryland held Duke to just one basket over five-plus minutes. Freshman Chris McCray's jumper capped the burst to make it 71-57 with 9:20 to go and McCray waved his arms in celebration to the delight of the sellout crowd.
Freshman J.J. Redick, the top prospect of a star-studded recruiting class, fouled out with just 13 points after a 34-point performance against Virginia Wednesday night. Duke made 37 of 40 foul shots in that game, but made just nine of 20 Saturday.
"We're concerned about everything," Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We've got a team that still has a lot of development, and this is not a good effort on our part."
Redick's freshman classmates also struggled as Shavlik Randolph managed five points and Shelden Williams had three. Duke's six freshmen combined for 25 points.
Ryan Randle collected 15 points and 17 rebounds as he exposed the Blue Devils' inside game. Beefy Tahj Holden added 10 points for Maryland, which converted 21 of 22 foul shots in the second half.
The Terrapins shot 93.5 percent from the line, becoming the first team to attempt more free throws than the Blue Devils this season. The performance came after Wednesday night's loss at Wake Forest, in which the Demon Deacons shot 42 foul shots.
"It's hard to put a game situation into a free-throw practice," Maryland Coach Gary Williams said. "You can't imitate the pressure. We just shoot them and we were on our game today. It's amazing when you play good defense and run your offense how you shoot good free throws, too. It just seems like that's part of the package."
Randle's big effort keyed a 43-32 edge on the glass for Maryland as Blake added seven rebounds. Duke's starters combined for just eight boards.
"Maryland played like a veteran team and we played like a young team," Krzyzewski said. "Drew Nicholas was sensational and Randle, I think, had more rebounds than all of our big guys together. He got every rebound, he played a great game."
Duke took a 13-3 lead and had the better of the play in the first half. Redick hit a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer for a 43-37 advantage.
Maryland opened the second half with nine straight points, grabbing a 46-43 lead on a three-pointer by Steve Blake with 18:35 remaining. Blake led all players with six assists.
"We just tried to keep the focus at the half, that we were playing good defense," said Williams, who notched his fifth victory over a No. 1 team. "I thought in the second half our execution on the offensive end was as good as it's been any year against a quality team."
Blake also helped hound Duke point guard Chris Duhon into three of 10 shooting. Duhon, the nation's assists leader, handed out only three.
Backup point guard John Gilchrist, a freshman, helped spark Maryland's decisive tear. The heir apparent to Blake, Gilchrist finished with six points and three assists in just 10 minutes.
"John is our future point guard, he is going to to be really good," Williams said. "He thinks he's really good now and I'm not going to tell him any different."
The Terrapins have won 13 straight ACC home games since a 74-71 loss to Florida State on Feb. 14, 2001. Maryland improved to 1-4 against ranked opponents this season.
Six of the last seven meetings have been won by the team that trailed at halftime.
