Duke wins, Siena loses but both teams prove a point in NCAA opener
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke rallied in second half, outworked Siena to secure 71-65 victory.
- Siena pushed top seed, led by 13 and showcased disciplined team play.
- Coaches praised character; game highlighted rebounding and late execution.
It was an odd NCAA Tournament game.
One team won to advance and the other lost, ending their season. Yet, both teams could walk off the court feeling good about themselves, about how they handled themselves, regardless of the final outcome.
Duke was the winner Thursday in the opening round of the East Region, the No. 1 national seed taking a 71-65 victory. But Siena, even in defeat, earned a deep degree of respect for the way they played, competed, went head to head with Blue Devils (33-2) and never back off, never flinched.
“Most 16th seeds come into this tournament and play scared,” Siena center Riley Mulvey said. “We never played scared.”
The Saints, the MAAC champions, hit shots early, rebounded well and jumped into the lead. They led by 11 at the half and by 13 early in the second half. Suddenly it seemed like the whole country was watching, wondering, starting to believe. March Madness, all that.
“You got to come out with energy and we didn’t come out ready to play,” Duke’s Cameron Boozer said. “They had 43 points in the first half and they have one of the slowest paces in the country
“That’s unacceptable. We’ve got to be better. In the second half, they only had 22 points, so we obviously did that.”
Duke’s second-half push
There were some key second-half sequences that altered momentum. With Siena leading by 13, Mulvey and then Francis Folefac missed dunks during a scramble, the ball rimming out, and Duke’s Isaiah Evans then scored on a fast-break dunk as the Devils put together an 11-0 run.
“Big moment for us,” Cayden Boozer said. “We kept rolling after that. We started playing Duke basketball”
Siena also had a 3-point shot miss, the ball rimming out, bouncing straight up and then rimming out again. If it was going to be Siena’s day …
“You have to hand it to Siena. They outplayed us today,” Cayden Boozer said. “But I didn’t want to go home and no one on this team wanted to lose this game. I felt like that whole second half we just had the right mindset, we had the right energy and it put us in position to win this game.
“We had to just regroup, understand that we only have 20 minutes guaranteed. We all understood one thing. We weren’t going home.”
Duke finally wore down Siena
The Devils were quicker to the ball in the second half, better closing out on shooters tougher on the boards. The Saints went with five players nearly the entire game, and fatigue could have set in as Duke applied the pressure.
“They’re a No. 1 seed for a reason,” Siena coach Gerry McNamara said of Duke. “They’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of heart and pride.
“I’ve got all that, too. I’m crushed for them because they played well enough to win. They did. But we got kind of crushed on the glass in the second half. The free-throw differential really hurt us, and we had a couple chances late to make a shot. We just couldn’t capitalize.”
The Saints finished 23-12 in McNamara’s second season. There has been speculation McNamara, who played and coached at Syracuse, could be the Orange’s new head coach.
But pushing Duke, making a game of it, will forever be a shining moment for him, for those who played.
“For me to take this job, to take it over, the goal was always to play on this stage, and I’m really, really proud of how they represented our school, our community, the alumni,” he said.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer could come away feeling the same way. Duke refused to lose. It found a way.
Scheyer was asked about his past experience at Duke, at being a No. 1 seed facing No. 16, what it took to win and how Thursday’s game ranked.
“Toughest one, not close,” he said. “Toughest moment, toughest game, toughest position I’ve ever been in in the tournament, no question about it.
“These guys, the character they showed. … The toughness down the stretch, I just think that’s what this tournament is all about.”
