Taking over the game for a brief stretch of the second half and putting on the finishing touches at the end, Vasquez propelled Maryland to an 88-79 victory before a crowd of 17,514.

“I’m hungry. This is what I want. I came back for a reason,” said Vasquez, who took his name out of the 2009 NBA Draft to return for Maryland for his senior year. “I came back because I wanted to win this league, the ACC championship. It’s not going to be easy.”

On a night when he battled illness, had one of his worst halves of the season and Maryland was down by 15 points, Vasquez (15 points, 13 assists) still had the stuff to deliver the Terps. During an 82-second span of the second half, the 6-foot-6 guard directed a 12-0 Maryland run that turned a deficit into a double-digit lead.

Vasquez ignited the rush with a 3-pointer, found to freshman Jordan Williams (18 points, 5 rebounds) for a layup, passed to senior Eric Hayes (15 points) for a 3-pointer, and finished it off with a steal and breakaway one-handed slam for a 77-67 lead with 6:04 to go.

“That was the highlight of my career,” said Vasquez. “I’m so happy, first time I had a dunk like that. I give all the credit to my strength coach. He’s on my butt every day.”

In the final 1:40, Vasquez added two free throws and a 15-foot fadeaway that kept Maryland in charge. Vasquez even mopped the floor as sophomore Sean Mosley (20 points) prepared to take some late free throws.

“It was funny, he told the manager, ‘I got this. I got this,’” said Mosley. “I was like, let’s get back on the free-throw line and get focused. But he has fun. That’s one thing I like about him. When he’s having fun, the team is playing excellent.”

Mosley, a 6-4 guard, played a major role as well, shooting his way out of a slump, making 6 of 8 from the floor on his way to his ACC season-high. Mosley started off hot, hitting three shots in Maryland’s first four possessions.

“Hitting my first shot got me in the flow right then and there,” said Mosley. “My teammates did a great job finding me today. Every shot I took felt like it was going in.”

With their fourth straight win, the Terps (20-7, 10-3) kept pace with Duke (23-4, 11-2) in what has become a two-team race in the ACC. The teams meet next Wednesday in College Park.

Clemson (19-8, 7-6) took control in the first half with a 19-2 run that included 3-pointers by senior David Potter (13 points), Demontez Stitt (15 points) and Noel Johnson (8 points). When powerfully-built senior Trevor Booker (13 points, 13 rebounds) hit back-to-back inside baskets, Clemson took a 31-16 lead.

The Tigers hit 8 of 16 from the 3-point line in the first half, but after intermission, they made 3 of 14 and forwards Booker and Potter scored just two points each. Clemson also made 10 turnovers in the second half, after making 5 in the first.

“We came in really worried about Trevor Booker. They hurt us with what we were trying to do so we just changed some things up and gambled a little bit,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams. “Jordan Williams and Dino Gregory could handle Booker on an individual basis. We still gave some help but we didn’t leave people and I think that was the key in the second half.”

The Terps offense was efficient throughout, hitting 54 percent from the floor and 61 percent from 3-point range while committing 10 turnovers. Williams made 8 of 12 shots. Hayes added 6 of 9 and hit all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

It was a departure from the first meeting, Jan. 31, when Maryland hit a season-low 35 percent from the floor and committed a season high 26 turnovers in a 62-53 loss.

“Against pressing teams, everybody tries to do the same thing, which is attack,” said Gary Williams. “Score when you have the opportunity, but then pull to back and run a good offense when you don’t have a shot. That’s easy to say but with the pace of the game and the crowd and everything, that is very difficult to do.”