03/19/26 04:32:00
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03/19 16:31 CDT No. 1 overall seed Duke survives 16-seed Siena, rallies for
71-65 win in 1st round of March Madness
No. 1 overall seed Duke survives 16-seed Siena, rallies for 71-65 win in 1st
round of March Madness
By AARON BEARD
AP Basketball Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) --- Duke barely avoided a shocking upset to open the NCAA
Tournament, with the No. 1 overall seed having to rally from 13 points down and
going ahead for good in the final 5 minutes to beat 16th-seeded Siena 71-65 on
Thursday.
Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the East Region's headliner,
which hit its first four shots yet need a comeback against a fearless upstart
playing just five players right up to the final seconds.
And yet, the Saints took it to the Blue Devils (33-2) at every turn.
The No. 1 seeds entered the week with a 158-2 record against 16 seeds in the
tournament, the outliers being Virginia's loss to UMBC in 2018 and Purdue's
loss to Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023.
And Duke --- a blueblood with five NCAA titles --- spent much of Thursday in
serious danger of being added to that list before finally wrestling away
control of the game in the last 8 minutes.
Gavin Doty scored 21 points to lead the Saints (23-12), with his third 3 giving
Siena a 61-56 lead with 7:53 left. But Duke ran off 11 unanswered points to
finally push ahead for good, securing a date against TCU in the second round.
But much of the afternoon belonged to the Saints. As Doty and Brendan Coyle hit
big 3s --- followed by confident arms-raised celebrations as they backpedaled
downcourt --- the crowd grew more energized with every passing minute in the
first half, including fans wearing Ohio State red and the lighter blue of Duke
rival North Carolina eager to start jumping on the ride.
And the Saints kept increasing their advantage, jarringly taking a 43-32 lead
as Duke looked discombobulated and uncomfortable in its tournament debut. A
team that had dominated inside to reach the top of the AP Top 25 even found
itself being outrebounded and outscored in the paint by halftime, a testament
to how Gerry McNamara's team was ready for the fight in its first March Madness
appearance since 2010.
Ultimately, though, the rousing shots started to slow for the Metro Atlantic
Athletic Conference champion. Siena missed eight straight shots and went
scoreless for nearly 7 minutes during the decisive run, part of an 8-for-34
showing (23.5%) after halftime.
Duke, meanwhile, finally grabbed its first lead since the opening 4 minutes on
Isaiah Evans' driving score at 63-61, while Evans and Boozer each hit four free
throws in the final 20 seconds to help Duke finally put away Siena.
Cayden Boozer added 19 points for Duke, which shot 40.7% for the game and made
just 5 of 26 3-pointers. Francis Folefac had 18 points and seven boards for
Siena.
The Blue Devils played their fifth straight game without starting big man
Patrick Ngongba II due soreness in his right foot.
Up next
Duke: The Blue Devils' date with the Horned Frogs on Saturday will be the first
meeting between the programs.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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