COLLEGE PARK, Md., Feb. 17 (UPI) -- No. 11 Wake Forest beat the snow but could not beat 13th-ranked Maryland with first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference on the line Monday.
Steve Blake scored 21 points and Drew Nicholas added 19 to lead the Terps to a 90-67 rout of the Demon Deacons.
Scheduled for Sunday night, the game was pushed back to Monday due to the snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast. Wake Forest arrived here Saturday, but officials postponed the game because of concerns about the safety of fans.
The delay did not stop Maryland (16-6, 8-3 ACC) from avenging an an 81-72 loss at Wake Forest on Jan. 15.
Despite nearly two feet of snow on the ground and a continued state of emergency in Maryland, the battle for first place still drew 14,222 to the Comcast Center, which hold 17,100.
"I am amazed by the number of people who attended," said Maryland Athletic Director Debbie Yow. "I am grateful so many fans made the effort to get here on such short notice."
Maryland (16-6, 8-3) rewarded the fans with perhaps its best performance of the season, shooting 50 percent from the field and outrebounding the Demon Deacons, 44-24.
"We picked it up on defense and we controlled the boards," said Maryland Coach Gary Williams.
"Steve controls the offense and he played a real aggressive and smart game. I think he had just one turnover in the first half."
Nicholas and Blake combined for 10 points in an 18-4 run that gave Maryland a 24-16 lead with 9:09 left in the first half. The Terps increased the advantage to 41-31 at halftime and pulled away in the second half.
"It was an unusual weekend, to say the least, but we have no excuses," said Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser. "We fought back in the second half, but just couldn't hit a basket in the last 10 minutes."
Wake Forest star Josh Howard scored 20 points but was just 6-of-15 from the field.
A three-pointer by Jamaal Levy and a three-point play by Howard made it 63-57 with 10:08 left, but Howard's basket was the last field goal for Wake Forest until Trent Strickland made a three-pointer with 51 seconds remaining.
Maryland put the game away with a 15-4 run as Taj Holden made six free throws and Blake hit a three-pointer and two free throws, giving the Terps a 78-61 advantage with 4:02 left.
The Terps next play at No. 8 Duke, and Wake Forest is at Georgia Tech on Thursday.
