RALEIGH, N.C. | Regis Jesuit High School grad Bud Thomas and his senior-heavy Mercer team upset No. 3 Duke Friday afternoon in the opening round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The No. 14-seeded Bears — the only Division I team in the country with five seniors to start in every single game, including Thomas — surged in the final five minutes and finished off a 78-71 victory over the Blue Devils at PNC Arena.
Thomas finished with two points, three rebounds and five assists for Atlantic Sun Conference champion Mercer, which advanced to play either Massachusetts or Tennessee on Sunday.
Thomas said earlier in the week that it was his dream to play Duke — a team he grew up watching in the NCAA Tournament — but he was also confident his team to win the game.
Mercer outscored Duke 20-8 down the stretch to come up with the victory and advance in the Midwest Region.
Thomas played well defensively against the Blue Devils’ loaded lineup and also was key in the final minutes with inbound passes.
Daniel Coursey scored 17 points and Jakob Gollon added 20 points for the Bears.
Duke went up 63-58 with 4:52 left after Parker converted a three-point play and Tyler Thornton hit three free throws.
The Blue Devils didn’t score again until the final minute.
Coursey countered by rattling in a jumper in the lane, and after two empty possessions for Duke, some slick ball rotation by Mercer set up an open 3 from Anthony White Jr. that tied it at 63 with 2½ minutes left.
Duke star Rodney Hood picked up his fourth foul on the Bears’ next possession and Gollon hit two free throws to put Mercer ahead for good.
By that point, Duke — in the midst of an untimely run of empty possessions — could do nothing right. Parker missed a 3-pointer in traffic before Hood was called for walking, leading White to give a fist-pump to the Mercer fans who stood all day.
The Bears hit 12 of 14 free throws in the final 2 minutes and finished 23 of 28 from the line. Gollon was 6 for 6 during that late span, and his two with 5 seconds left put the Bears up 78-68 before Cook hit a meaningless 3 with 0.2 seconds remaining.
White finished with 13 points, and A-Sun player of the year Langston Hall and Ike Nwamu added 11 apiece for Mercer — which watched the last year’s Sweet 16 run by “Dunk City” with a mixture of pride and envy.
The Bears — not Gulf Coast — were the No. 1 seed in last year’s A-Sun final but were knocked off by Andy Enfield’s high-flying team that went on to upset Georgetown and San Diego State in last year’s tournament.
What Mercer did Friday — sending home one of the sport’s true blue bloods — might be even more impressive because of the sheer volume of big-named talent on Duke’s team.
Mercer has 1,176 wins as a program — or, only 191 more than Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has all by himself.
— Joedy McCreary of the Associated Press contributed to this report
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
NO. 14 MERCER 78, NO. 3 DUKE 71
MERCER (27-8)
Thomas 1-4 0-0 2, Gollon 5-9 9-9 20, Coursey 7-12 3-5 17, White Jr. 4-6 3-5 13, Hall 3-5 4-5 11, Leonard 0-0 0-0 0, Canevari 0-1 0-0 0, Nwamu 4-5 2-2 11, Hallice 0-1 0-0 0, Moten 1-2 0-0 2, Bryan 0-0 0-0 0, M. Brown 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 25-45 23-28 78.
DUKE (26-9)
Parker 4-14 6-7 14, Hood 2-10 0-0 6, Jefferson 1-4 0-0 2, Thornton 1-2 3-3 6, Sulaimon 6-15 3-3 20, Cook 8-11 0-0 23, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Hairston 0-0 0-0 0, Dawkins 0-5 0-0 0, Plumlee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-62 12-13 71.
Halftime_Duke 35-34. 3-Point Goals_Mercer 5-13 (White Jr. 2-2, Hall 1-2, Nwamu 1-2, Gollon 1-3, Moten 0-1, Canevari 0-1, Thomas 0-2), Duke 15-37 (Cook 7-10, Sulaimon 5-12, Hood 2-5, Thornton 1-1, Jones 0-1, Parker 0-3, Dawkins 0-5). Fouled Out_Hood. Rebounds_Mercer 27 (Gollon 5), Duke 35 (Jefferson 11). Assists_Mercer 16 (Hall, Thomas 5), Duke 15 (Hood 5). Total Fouls_Mercer 15, Duke 22. A_NA.
