Staff photo by Chuck Liddy
• Photo gallery: Duke 74, Texas 69
• First Look: 157 unedited images from the game
GREENSBORO — Greeted by boos as they walked on the court, Duke silenced the UNC fans at the Greensboro Coliseum for the first 38 minutes.
But not the two final raucous minutes of Duke's second-round win over Texas on Saturday.
Nolan Smith's free throws with 47 seconds left broke a 69-69 tie. Gerald Henderson added three more free throws in the final 30.8 seconds to seal the 74-69 win for the Blue Devils.
Duke kept the light-blue crowd quiet until Varez Ward's jumper with 1:42 left pulled Texas even.
The Blue Devils had led for the majority of the game but have let Ward get hot. The reserve guard is 7-of-7 from the floor and has 16 points.
Texas, the seventh-seed, had a chance to take the lead late but Damion James' 3-pointer went in-and-out with 34 seconds left. After a mad scramble for the ball, Elliot Williams ended up on the foul line with 11.5 seconds left.
Williams missed both free throws but Henderson came down with the loose ball and sealed Duke's first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2006.
VCU knocked the Devils out in the first round in 2007 and West Virginia ended their season in the second round in 2008.
Gerald Henderson led Duke with 24 points, none more emphatic than the dunk over 6-10 Texas center Clint Chapman at 14:05 in the second half.
Henderson elevated over Chapman and then was fouled on the way down. He completed the three-point play to give Duke a 47-43 advantage.
A.J. Abrams kept Texas close with 17 points. Ward finished with 16 and James added 15.
Henderson's strong first half gave the Devils a slight cushion in a methodical first 20 minutes. Somewhat surprisingly, Texas has played almost all man defense. Duke has responded by spreading the floor and isolating Henderson.
Henderson's reverse layup with 43 seconds left in the half pushed Duke out to a 34-27 lead.
Nolan Smith followed a Damion James tip-in with a pull-up jumper before the halftime buzzer for the 36-29 margin.
Comments
Duke/UNC WAR
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 20:04 — WampumI'm going to make a lot of people angry but I'm pulling for both UNC and DUKE in the tourney. It makes no difference to me who they're playing, I just want them to win. Since the ACC has made such a poor showing this year, we need all the wins we can muster. I'm also following the ACC gals too and want them to keep advancing. All I'm saying is that the ACC has to get back in the good graces of all sports scribes and pundits by just winning. That's the only way we can do it.
too late
Mon, 03/23/2009 - 08:26 — gvillegatrwe're still top heavy. all we can hope for is a UNC/DUIke epic battle in the Final 4.
Yay
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 23:56 — FlowerpowerGo, Duke!
UNC Fans - a classless act
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 23:27 — a123456bPaying money to boo Duke. How idiotic is that. Hey, if you're that insecure about supporting a team that was suppose to go undefeated and win the National Championship, but choked like no team has choked right out of the gate, hey keep on buying those tickets and keep the boos coming.
RE: UNC Fans - a classless act
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 12:15 — go_heels74You are obviously clueless regarding the facts, so I'll help you out. Many people, myself included, bought tickets to the sessions vs. individual games. That means we paid to see ALL the games. While I'm a UNC fan, I paid money to see games on Thursday & Saturday and watched them all.
I'm assuming from your comments that you missed the "Go to Hell Carolina" chant the Duke fans started at the beginning of our game? Or maybe you missed the Duke fans generally acting like total losers throughout our game? By your standards, I guess that would make them classless? If you're going to dish it out, you might learn to take it when other people pull the same thing on you.
Finally, let's talk about choking. You might want to take a look back at the outcome of the UNC-Duke games this year. Or the last 4 at Cameron.
I guess you missed all the
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 00:20 — whitman22I guess you missed all the dook fans standing and cheering for LSU earlier. But you're a little confused; Carolina fans paid money to see the best team in the country play. The chance to boo the flopping goats of Durham was just an added bonus.
As for choking, you should just celebrate finally getting out of the second round.
The best team in the country?
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 00:27 — DuvallSomebody should've told those poor Carolina fans that Memphis was playing in Kansas City.
???????????
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 09:27 — gvillegatrseriously?
Boo Birds
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 22:59 — mule10The Caro-winers are so jealous. They can't help themselves. They boo everybody-State, Wake, Clemson, etc. It's just that they are no class folk.
Are you saying
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 23:14 — festerDo any of those teams mentioned have a fan base that openly roots for UNC??? Get a clue! it's tobacco road where College Bball became a brand name. The rivlaries between UNC, Duke, Wake and NC State have deep rooted hate dating ack to the 50's and even before. fights used to erupt when all these schools met in the early years of the ACC. Teams, fans, coaches. The big 4 have a longggggggggggggg history of strong hate. why even bother bringing Clemson into this? If I ever meet a Clemson fan that pulls for UNC, I will look for pigs flying, the sky falling and snow in the Sahara. UNC fans are very pro ACC, actually more than a few of the schools you mentioned, anemly Duke and Clemson. Duke fans don't pull for other ACC teams but you better bet UNC fans do. Duke fans pull for Big East teams and Duke.
Grizzly
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 22:58 — festerThis Heels fan was pulling for Duke as well, Go ACC! Duke fans did the same thing in the UNC/LSU game. It's understandable and just part of the best rivalry in sports. I was satisfying seeing Rick Barnes fail, Duke's fail is coming. Actually just 4 days away.
Nevermind
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 21:35 — GrizzlySpitterI can't stand K. Hook em Horns!
Hate duke but
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 21:32 — GrizzlySpitterI am pulling for the them. The ACC looks like garbage. We need as many wins as we can get. I am sick of seeing Tarheel fans doing Texas chants on tv. I know Duke is hated and they did it first but come on. We dont have to hate what we dont fear......We own Duke...pull for ACC teams.