How's that for an encore?

One week after Maryland knocked off then-No. 1 Duke in convincing fashion, the Terrapins took advantage of a critical miscue to extend their undefeated run at Cole with a 90-89 come-from-behind victory over Wake Forest.

Juan Dixon -- who made just 3-of-10 first-half shots in a game in which his and teammate Lonny Baxter's numbers were hung from the rafters at Cole Field House -- made one of two technical foul free throws after Josh Howard called a timeout the Demon Deacons didn't have with 1.3 seconds remaining for the game-winner.

"It's a great feeling man," said Dixon, who finished with 20 points. "For me to be on the free throw line at the end of that game, I guess it was meant to be. Even though I missed that second free throw, I got the first one and we got the win."

The win gives Maryland its best start in program history at 23-3, surpassing the mark set by the 1975 team, which started 22-3 before finishing the year at 24-5. It also extends Maryland's best-ever start in ACC play at 13-1 and gives them a one-game lead over Duke for first place in the conference.

Craig Dawson led Wake Forest (18-10, 8-6) with a game-high 27 points. Darius Songaila had 20 and Howard had 18, including the last two for the Deacons when he made a layup but missed the ensuing free throw on the play that set up Maryland's final possession. Dixon rebounded Howard's missed free throw and then missed a jumper on the other end that landed in Howard's hands where he called his fateful timeout.

"I like the way our guys played the second half," Maryland Coach Gary Williams said. "We've been down before at halftime this year, but that game stayed tight the whole way. To win a game like a top-25 team like Wake Forest in that situation where they did a great job coming out and took it right to us and we were able to rally in the second half and get it back, that's a great win for us."

Dixon had a few moments to think about his pending shots and was facing his newly-displayed number, but said he didn't glance up at it during the timeout.

"I was just thinking, make the free throws," said Dixon, who did admit to sneaking one peek at the number earlier in the game.

Byron Mouton had another standout game, finishing with 19 points. He is averaging 16.1 points in his last eight contests, but after the game he revealed another contribution that wouldn't show up in the box score.

Throughout the game, Mouton had a running dialogue with Howard, who has been suffering with an ankle injury. Mouton said all that jawing, coupled with a frenzied Cole crowd in the closing seconds, might have helped force the technical foul.

"That thing about me getting in his head and me conversing back and forth, and stuff like that, he's not thinking what the situation is and he called a timeout by worrying about certain things instead of worrying about the basketball game," Mouton said. "But Josh Howard, he's a great player, playing on one ankle. To come out and do what he did, it's tough."

This is the first one-point game the Terps have played in this season, but that doesn't mean they haven't had to deal with their share of adversity. In addition to comeback victories against Clemson and a notable win at Virginia, both Mouton (brother) and Williams (father) have lost family members this season.

"To be mentally tough with all that's gone on with this program this year and to win games the way we've been winning them, you've got to give props to this team," Mouton said. "It says we got guts to come out and win games like this. … Last year we couldn't win games like this."

Perhaps Baxter, who had 19 first-half points on his way to scoring a team-high 25, put it best, as he and his teammates turned in yet another performance that will likely be remembered for a long time.

"It was just a historical day in Cole Field House once again."

Gary Williams

I like the way our guys played the second half. We've been down before at halftime this year, but that game stayed tight the whole way. To win a game like a top-25 team like Wake Forest in that situation where they did a great job coming out and took it right to us and we were able to rally in the second half and get it back, that's a great win for us. A lot of teams wouldn't win that game. We found a way to win it. I don't care if it's pretty, I don't care what happened. We won the game and that's a tough thing to do in that situation. Especially giving up the potential three-point play like we did.

I'm really proud of our guys. This is the first time really all year where it came down to a last-second situation and we did a great job with it.

On Lonny & Juan's numbers being hung in Cole:

It's a great honor and they deserve it. That's basically it. They deserve to be honored and I'm really glad we did it today but you don't want to get away from any routine you have before a game sometimes that takes the focus a little bit off of getting ready to play and the other team comes out flying and you're like back on your heels a little bit instead of being ready like you usually are. We learned a lot today and that's a good experience.

When you look at Lonny is the only player to be the MVP of a region here at Maryland with all the great players - and some of them were here today - and you look at Juan, statistically what he's done the fact that both of those guys played on teams that won 100 games in four years, I think there's a pretty good argument for putting those two as maybe the best tandem to ever play at Maryland in a four-year period.

On Wake Forest's fast start

I thought in the first half we were sluggish and that really shows up against a running team. We catch some teams like that sometimes where they aren't running to get back as well as they should. We really had trouble matching up and we never got our defense set and that's why Dawson got open so much. It wasn't that it was that bad of a matchup, it was that we had to take other people and all of a sudden, we had the wrong guy on him because we had the wrong guy on him. Once we did a better job of that and we did switch Byron on him and really worked hard in the second half. Once we did switch Byron on him it calmed us down a little bit. To give up that many points in a half, that's not us. We can't play like that and hopefully we won't any more.

On the timeout

That can happen to anybody. Because you practice calling that quick timeout on the missed shot. Because if you don't call timeout there, you're going to have to throw the ball that far - from where he got that rebound on that missed shot. It was a natural instinct. Once the game is over, you do feel for that situation, because Wake played so well today. But that all goes into it. Sometimes you get a break. But I'll tell you what, we have a good enough team and we got close enough where we could take advantage of a situation like that.

Did this feel like a tournament game?

We've played a lot of games this year that felt like that. There's no difference in intensity level. It might mean more at the end of the year because it's a one and done type situation. But for where we are right now, this means a great deal.

Is the team tired?

No we're fine. We took Thursday off to rest. We're fine for this time of year. Everybody's the same for this time of year. You've practice since October 13 and played about 28 games, so you got to be ready.

We're you nervous down the stretch?

A couple times I felt we needed to score in that particular time and we didn't and you start worrying, but you can't give that to the players; You've got to keep that in and just tell the players to figure out a way to win the game. That's the thing in coaching, you tell the players coming out of a timeout 'stay tough we're going to figure out a way to win this game,' of course I haven't figured out how to win it yet when I tell them that, but it sounds good and hopefully it gives them a little confidence.

Thoughts on being one win away from undefeated in Cole Field House

It would mean a lot more if we beat Florida State. We have to prepare for Florida State and do a great job there, then we'll have a chance to do that. But until we play Florida State that's not something I'm spending a lot of time on.

What did you say in the last timeout?

I told them he's going to miss the free throw. Once again, what's it cost you? You just tell them he's going to miss the free throw. And if we get it, let's go, we know what we wanted to run, we wanted to penetrate with the basketball and hopefully get fouled and we got a good shot, we just missed that shot and they called timeout when they got the rebound.

Juan Dixon

It's a great feeling man. For me to be on the free throw line at the end of that game, I guess it was meant to be. Even though I missed that second free throw, I got the first one and we got the win.

I think we grew up so much from last year. I don't thing we would have been able to pull this game out last year. It says a lot about this team, how bad we want it and how much we've grown as a team.

They played well enough to beat any team in the country today. The played good defense, but we found a way to pull it out at the end.

Byron Mouton

The same thing happened against Clemson. We tried to press them and they had three shooters on the perimeter and anybody could jack it up and hit the open shot. That's the thing that we wanted in the second half, to play aggressive half-court defense and don't give them an easy bucket, and that's what we did.

I don't think we escaped at all. We went through the situation. We're aggressive and we got the will to win, man, and that's the difference. As soon as we walked into the locker room we looked at each other and

Coach said to us at halftime, this is a blessing for us, He said it's going to make you all learn how to play in a tight situation. There wasn't much fussing and yelling, he just said we've never been in a game like that. What's so funny is we talked about that in practice, that we've played Oklahoma and Virginia and others but we've never had a buzzer beater.

This year we've been through a lot of stuff with me coach and everybody on the team and situations like Virginia and stuff. And to be mentally tough with all that's gone on with this program this year and to win games the way we've been winning them, you've got to give props to this team.