DURHAM, N.C. — On the bus ride home from a loss at North Carolina earlier this month, Terrapins men’s basketball guard Dez Wells sat with special assistant coach and former All-American guard Juan Dixon to watch the Terps’ 2001 Final Four loss to rival Duke. That wasn’t the first time the Terps’ leading scorer has revisited moments from the program’s past, either.

Since he arrived in College Park prior to last season as a transfer from Xavier, Wells has consistently discussed his desire to absorb the history of the program and to carve his own imprint in it.

Saturday night, Wells came agonizingly close to doing exactly that in the Terps’ final ACC game against the No. 8 Blue Devils before 9,314 frenzied fans at historic Cameron Indoor Stadium. But after Wells brought the Terps back with 17 second-half points, Duke hung on for a 69-67 win in a knock-down, drag-out physical battle that sent the rivalry out in appropriate fashion.

Forward Charles Mitchell had a potential game-winning shot trickle off the rim with less than three seconds remaining, and the Terps trailing by one. Instead, Duke forward Jabari Parker’s thunderous dunk with 1:17 remaining proved to be the game-winner and the play that ended the Terps’ (14-12, 6-7 ACC) two-game winning streak over the Blue Devils (20-5, 9-3).

“I’ve been watching Maryland and Duke play since I was little. I can remember me and my mom watching Jason Williams and Juan Dixon play against each other,” Wells said. “Being a part of this tradition is second to none. I just wish we could have won this game.”

Layman led the Terps with 18 points, but Wells took over the game late, scoring all 17 of his points in the game’s final 13 minutes.

Parker scored a game-high 23 points in a loss that serves as a dagger for the Terps’ NCAA Tournament aspirations. But it was also an intense game that’s significance, according to Wells and coach Mark Turgeon, stretched beyond this year’s team.

“We played for all the former coaches, all the former players, all the former students,” Turgeon said. “I can’t be more proud of my guys. I hope Maryland fans feel the same way. I know we’re upset that we lost, but our guys gave it all they had.”

The Terps had to fight through early foul trouble just to stick close to the Blue Devils. Wells went to the bench with 6:59 left in the first half because he picked up his third foul and Mitchell, who sparked the Terps with eight points in the opening nine minutes, also had three fouls by halftime.

Still, Layman helped the Terps climb back from an early deficit by draining a pair of 3-pointers in the first half. The highlight of the half came on Layman’s only miss from beyond the arc, when guard Nick Faust soared from several steps outside of the paint for a thunderous putback slam, but the Terps still trailed 39-33 at halftime.

Midway through the second half, Wells got into a groove to spark the Terps’ comeback. The junior scored his first points of the game on a layup with 12:57 to play and continued to relentlessly attack the rim for the rest of the game.

“He was in one of those modes where he was being aggressive and getting his shots off and getting some great looks,” Layman said. “He was great in the second half for us.”

Wells finished an and-1 after a breakaway to tie the score, 52-52, and then with 8:26 remaining, he gave the Terps their first lead at 54-52 by scoring another coast-to-coast layup. The bulky, 6-foot-5 guard seemed comfortable shouldering the offensive responsibilities down the stretch of arguably the season’s most important game.

Duke didn’t falter when Wells got hot, though, and the longtime rivals traded jabs down the stretch. But when Wells hit a 3-pointer to put the Terps up 67-64 with 2:45 left, Turgeon found some optimism.

“When he made that, I thought we were going to win it,” Turgeon said.

Those would be the team’s last points of game. And after Rodney Hood hit two free throws, Parker slammed home his game-defining dunk over forward Damonte Dodd.

Wells, who finished 7-of-11 from the field, missed a jumper on the Terps’ ensuing possession and Mitchell failed to finish two short shots in the final 20 seconds.

Mitchell’s final attempt, a short turnaround hook shot, bounced off the back rim, then hit the front rim twice and fell off to seal the Terps’ loss, albeit one in a game that only heightened the legend of the rivalry Wells so deeply admires.

“Hopefully in 10 years this’ll be on ESPN Classic and I’ll be talking to my children, my sister and my mom about how I picked up like three fouls in five minutes,” Wells said. “Hopefully, I’ll be looking back laughing at it, but right now, it hurts to lose.”