NCAA Results: Duke Survives Scare from Belmont, 71-70

David just couldn't hit Goliath in the last minute of the game. After fighting number two seed Duke for most of the game, fifteenth-seed Belmont saw its chance at a miracle win disappear when Gerald Henderson hit a running floater with11 seconds left to lift the Blue Devils to a 71-70, come-from-behind win in first-round action of the West Region of the NCAA Tournament at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Belmont, a 15^th-seed, battled the two-seed Blue Devils for most of the game. Justin Hare hit two free throws with 2:02 remaining that gave the Bruins the lead. Two straight defensive stops against Duke gave the Atlantic Sun Conference champions hope of winning.

That chance largely disappeared when Belmont failed to convert on its offensive end. Henderson grabbed a rebound and weaved his way down the court, squeezing between three Belmont defenders in the paint to loft his game-winning shot.

Belmont had three more chances to reclaim the lead. Justin Hare tried a shot in the lane with four seconds remaining, but the ball bounced off the rim and triggered a scramble. Belmont got possession of the jump ball with three seconds left.

Belmont coach Rick Byrd called timeout to set up an in-bounds, Alley-Oop play. But Alex Renfroe's pass was off target, and Demarcus Nelson grabbed the ball for Duke. Belmont fouled him with 2.7 seconds remaining.

Nelson missed the front end of his one-plus-one foul shot. Belmont's Will Peeples grabbed the rebound and called timeout as Belmont tried to set up a final play. That failed when Hare's desperation shot was off to the left.

Henderson led Duke with 21 points - including the game winner and final eight points of the game - plus seven rebounds, three assists and five steals in the game. Three other Blue Devils reached double figures - Jon Scheyer (13 points), Greg Paulus (12), and Kyle Singler (11).

Belmont's offense was led by Renfroe with 15 points. Matthew Dotson and Mike Dejworek added 14 each.

Both teams fought to a draw in terms of shooting, with Belmont hitting 44.8 percent (26-of-58), while Duke hit the bucket at a 43.1 percent rate (25-of-58). But Duke had an edge on the boards and at the charity strip. The Blue Devils out-rebounded Belmont 41-32. Duke also hit more free throws (15-of-21, or 71.4%) than Belmont (10-of-15, 66.7%).

Duke advances to the second round, facing the winner of the West Virginia-Arizona contest on Saturday.

References

Belmont vs Duke Game Statistics (2008, March 20). Gametracker.