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Posted on 03/19/2026 3:38:53 PM PDT by sopo
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- — 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.
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too bad... Lets Go Redmen!!!
oh yes he did mention it prominently, sorry.
Rats. I’m out.
you’re kidding, that broke your bracket? Siena shouldn’t have been 16 or Duke shouldn’t have been 1, though they have a significant injury.
How should I feel about the disgusting Duke Lacrosse scandal? I hope Duke loses every game!!!!
That’s one of the few travesties of the last few decades that actually worked out right
12 High Point took down 5 Wisconsin by a point
I went to UF. Go Gators.
High Point- a GREAT conservative university!!!
I am a High Point University alum and they showed up today. The women play on Saturday.
is it in North Carolina or up by the NY border in PA?
Wisconsin nearly beat Michigan last week, so they’re no slouches
They whupped up on the Gators baseball team a few weeks ago, after the Gators had swept Miami.
North Carolina....one of my daughters friends (daughter of one of my wifes best friend) goes there- after DJT won the election in Nov 2024 the campus erupted in celebration...
“According to the boxscore, all 5 Siena players played the full 40 minutes ( which the idiot that wrote the article doesn’t mention) “
As OP, you should read the article. It is more accurate than your post.
“I went to UF. “
‘77
which I apologized for in #3., but thanks for the reminder
Should also mention, the white guy from High Point who scored the last five points of the game and won the game for HP has a Biblical verse on his shoes...
Guess there’s more to High Point than just furniture.
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