Stephen F. Austin stuns top-ranked Duke
DURHAM, N.C. — Nathan Bain stole the ball and hit a layup at the overtime buzzer and Stephen F. Austin knocked off No. 1 Duke 85-83 on Tuesday night, ending the Blue Devils' 150-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents.
Stephen F. Austin became the first non-Atlantic Coast Conference team to beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in nearly 20 years and the second unranked team to upset a No. 1-ranked team on its home floor in two weeks after Evansville went into Rupp Arena and stunned Kentucky 67-64.
“I told our players, ‘Banners can't beat us tonight,': Stephen F. Austin coach Kyle Keller said. “The players have to beat us.”
Duke had the ball in the closing seconds of overtime, but Tre Jones missed a jumper with about 15 seconds left and Wendell Moore rebounded it. Hounded by the Lumberjacks' high-pressure defense, Hurt threw the ball away in a scramble with about 3 seconds left and it went to Bain, who went the length of the floor for a buzzer-beating layup.
“I looked up at the clock and saw I had 2.6 seconds, just going as fast as I can to lay it up. Like a layup drill. Prayed it would go in,” Bain said. “I wasn't sure if the guy was going to foul me or not. Get it on the rim to give us a chance.”
Kevon Harris scored 26 points and Gavin Kensmil added 15 for the Lumberjacks (5-1).
Vernon Carey had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Devils (6-1), who had 22 turnovers and were just 11 of 24 from the free-throw line in the second half.
Tre Jones had 17 points and 12 assists but also had eight turnovers against a high-pressure Stephen F. Austin defense that is the nation's best at generating takeaways.
There were two ties and a lead change in the final minute of regulation, with Kensmil tying it at 81 with his layup with 19 seconds remaining. That left Duke with the last shot before OT, but after Jones missed a turnaround jumper with about 4 seconds left, the rebound was batted around to Stanley, whose jumper off the glass went off the rim at the buzzer.
No question, the Lumberjacks earned the biggest victory in program history, becoming the first non-ACC team to come into Cameron and win since St. John's did it in February 2000.