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COLLEGE PARK, Md. — It took Wake Forest sophomore guard Jeff Teague more than a half to wake up last night against Maryland, and it took the Demon Deacons even longer to play with anywhere close to the urgency and desperation as their not-so-hospitable hosts.

Trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half and by six with a little under 8 minutes left, Teague and the 10th-ranked Demon Deacons were finally aroused, pulling out a 65-63 victory over the Terps at Comcast Center.

Teague, who scored only four points in the first half, finished with a team-high 17 points, one more than freshman forward Al-Farouq Aminu, and led Wake Forest (23-5, 10-5) to its third straight victory. It broke a four-game losing streak to Maryland (18-11, 7-8).

"They were playing harder, it was Senior Night, and we were more relaxed than we should have been," said Teague, who ignited the Demon Deacons during a 9-0 run that helped take control of the game. "We should have come out with a down-by-10 mentality."

The Terps hit two 3-pointers in the final minute to make the final score look tighter than it was.

Dave Neal, Maryland's only senior, hit five threes for a career-high 19 points.

Greivis Vasquez was held to 16, but he scored only five in the second half and missed 17 of 24 shots.

"Early on he was terrific," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said of Vasquez, who was coming off a 33-point performance Sunday against N.C. State and had scored a career-high 35 recently against North Carolina. "After that initial burst, we did a great job on him."

The Demon Deacons used a 14-2 run early in the second half to seemingly take control of the game. The absence of junior guard L.D. Williams due to fouls and junior center Chas McFarland, who played only 8 minutes in the first half because of an undisclosed injury, was felt.

Trailing 45-41, Neal led the Terps on a 13-3 run by hitting three straight threes. A layup by Maryland's Dino Gregory, on a possession started by a defensive rebound by Neal, made it 54-48 in favor of the Terps with 7:44 remaining.

It was about then that Gaudio matched the 2-3 zone Gary Williams used to throw off the Demon Deacons with a 1-3-1 zone of his own. It was primarily to stop Vasquez from penetrating, and it worked. Until the two threes in the last 8 seconds, the Terps missed seven of their previous eight shots.

"I think our zone really bothered them," Teague said. "We never played it before and nobody had scouted it."

Teague and his teammates understood Maryland's plight. The Terps might have secured a bid to the NCAA tournament with their third win this season over a Top 10 team. Instead, they will have to beat Virginia Saturday and might have to win a game in the ACC tournament.

"They were really motivated," Teague said. "They played really well in the first half, but in the second half we got out and ran."

Not that the Demon Deacons weren't motivated. They were mired in the logjam at third and fourth place in the ACC, and the top four in the league get an extra day of rest in Atlanta for this year's tournament at the Georgia Dome.

"We're in the same situation (as Maryland), we're just fighting for seeds in the ACC tournament," said sophomore forward James Johnson.

WAKE FOREST (23-5, 10-5)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Aminu 34 6-12 3-4 6-14 2 1 16

Johnson 32 4-11 1-3 6-8 0 2 9

McFarland 8 2-3 0-0 1-4 1 0 4

Teague 37 6-16 4-5 1-2 1 2 17

Williams 19 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 4 2

Clark 14 2-4 0-0 0-4 1 1 6

Hale 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Smith 33 4-11 2-3 1-3 4 1 11

Weaver 9 0-0 0-0 1-6 0 1 0

Woods 11 0-2 0-2 2-5 0 0 0

Totals 200 25-63 10-17 19-50 9 12 65

Percentages: FG .397, FT .588. 3-point goals: 5-15, .333 (Clark 2-4, Smith 1-2, Aminu 1-2, Teague 1-6, Johnson 0-1). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 10 (Weaver 2, Johnson 2, Aminu 2, Teague 2, Woods, McFarland). Turnovers: 16 (Woods 3, Johnson 3, Teague 3, Williams 2, Clark 2, McFarland, Aminu, Smith). Steals: 6 (Smith 2, McFarland, Aminu, Clark, Hale). Technical fouls: None.

MARYLAND (18-11, 7-8)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Milbourne 30 1-6 0-0 0-2 0 1 2

Neal 23 7-11 0-0 2-6 0 3 19

Mosley 23 2-6 2-2 2-5 3 1 6

Vasquez 39 7-24 0-0 1-5 7 2 16

Bowie 18 3-5 0-0 2-3 0 3 6

Dupree 6 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 4

Hayes 28 3-8 0-0 1-2 4 2 6

Tucker 12 1-3 0-0 0-1 1 2 2

Gregory 21 1-3 0-0 1-3 0 2 2

Totals 200 27-69 2-2 11-32 15 17 63

Percentages: FG .391, FT 1.000. 3-point goals: 7-19, .368 (Neal 5-6, Vasquez 2-8, Tucker 0-1, Milbourne 0-1, Hayes 0-3). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 3 (Milbourne 2, Gregory). Turnovers: 10 (Vasquez 4, Bowie 2, Hayes, Tucker, Neal). Steals: 8 (Vasquez 3, Mosley 2, Tucker, Hayes, Dupree). Technical fouls: None.

Wake Forest 25 40 — 65

Maryland 32 31 — 63

A—17,950. Officials—Jamie Luckie, John Cahill, Mike Kitts.