Stephen F. Austin players celebrate the team's 85-83 overtime win over Duke in an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C.
Duke, the No. 1 college basketball team in the country, was stunned Tuesday by Stephen F. Austin, losing in dramatic fashion in overtime.
ESPN called the win the sport’s biggest Division I upset win in 15 years, and pointed out that the Blue Devils were favored by 27.5 points. It was the school’s first nonconference loss at their home court since 2000. Duke, at one point, held a 15-point lead.
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 Nathan Bain — who went the length of the floor for a buzzer-beating layup. The Lumberjacks won 85-83.
“I told our players, ‘Banners can’t beat us tonight,’” Stephen F. Austin coach Kyle Keller said. “The players have to beat us.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report