MIDWEST REGIONAL

Mercer busts brackets by beating Duke

RALEIGH, N.C. - There was a level of confidence and poise, the air of a veteran team that expected to win on college basketball’s biggest stage.

There was execution, huge defense, clutch free throws down the stretch and adjustments and basically a team that finished solidly against a quality opponent.

And then there was third-seeded Duke on Friday.

Mercer, a 14th seed, began the second day of the second round of the NCAA tournament with a bracket-busting 78-71 victory over Duke at PNC Arena in Raleigh.

“They’re not just a good team; they’re an outstanding team,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “So well-coached. You can tell those guys that played a lot of basketball together, and (Langston) Hall leads them so well.”

About 1,000 Mercer fans - including six busloads of students - as well as the band, cheerleaders, dance team and Toby the Mascot made the trip and made some quality noise.

There was plenty of energy for celebrating after a game with nine ties and 13 lead changes, Mercer having answers all afternoon.

“Our guys believed they could win, which is also another major thing that transpired [Friday],” said Mercer Coach Bob Hoffman, who spent a good chunk of time with national media afterward.

The first answer for the Bears came when they trailed by seven for the second time in the first half, Duke’s largest lead of the day.

Ike Nwamu hit two free throws, giving Jabari Parker his first foul, and then Bud Thomas scored on a teardrop shot in the lane. Duke’s Rodney Hood hit a three, but Nwamu scored on a tip-in and layup, and Jake Gollon a three-pointer for a temporary lead before settling for a one-point halftime deficit for Mercer.

Mercer got Duke’s complete attention by taking a five-point lead early in the second half, with the Blue Devils responding with an 8-0 run to get back on top. Parker’s three-point play and Tyler Thornton’s three free throws then gave Duke a 63-58 lead with 4:52 left.

And then it became a matter of will and execution. The Bears had more of both.

Daniel Coursey’s turnaround got the roll, and then Anthony White Jr., who had a key tip-in moments earlier, took a sharp pass from Hall and drained a three to tie it.

White hauled in a long pass from Thomas on the inbounds play for a layup to make it 71-66, and there was serious madness in the air.

Improbably, the margin reached 10 for a few seconds before Quinn Cook hit a final-second three.

Mercer was led by Gollon with 20, including a 9-for-9 day at the free-throw line. He also led the defensive attack on Duke freshman forward Jabari Parker, who managed14 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Coursey added 17 points, White 13, Hall 11 and Nwamu 11.

“It’s definitely a surreal feeling, man,” Hall said. “This is what March Madness is about, really.” TENNESSEE 86, MASSACHUSETTS 67

Jarnell Stokes scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help Tennessee beat Massachusetts.

Jordan McRae added 21 points for the Volunteers (23-12), the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Regional. Tennessee had little trouble with the sixth-seeded Minutemen (24-9), shooting 54 percent from the field and handling UMass’ fullcourt pressure in a surprisingly one-sided performance that included another solid defensive showing.

Chaz Williams and Maxie Esho scored 12 points each for UMass in its first NCAA appearance since 1998. But the Minutemen fell behind by double figures early, trailed by 20 points before halftime and never got closer than 10 again.

WICHITA STATE 64, CAL POLY 37

Cleanthony Early had 23 points and unbeaten Wichita State faced no resistance from Cal Poly, going to 35-0 for the best start in NCAA history with a rout of Cal Poly.

Malik Love had nine points for Cal Poly (14-20), which won the Big West tournament as the No. 7 seed and beat Texas Southern in First Four game before being held to a season low for points. Chris Eversley, the Big West tournament MVP who was coming off a 19-point game, was held to six points on 2-for-14 shooting.

KENTUCKY 56, KANSAS ST. 49

Julius Randle had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Aaron Harrison finished with 18 points and No. 8 seed Kentucky beat Kansas State to earn a date with top-seeded Wichita State.

The preseason No. 1, Kentucky (25-10) is finally starting to live up to the expectations that came with its heralded recruiting class. John Calipari’s bunch nearly knocked off Florida in the SEC title game last week and seemed to carry that momentum into the NCAA tournament Friday.

Marcus Foster had 15 points, Shane Southwell scored 11 and Thomas Gipson finished with 10 for Kansas State (20-13).

Sports, Pages 22 on 03/22/2014

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