No. 14 seed Mercer stuns Duke

Once again, there wasn't much "D" in Duke -- and now there aren't any Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament.

Mike Krzyzewski's team was sent to its second one-and-done in three years yesterday, losing to 14th-seeded Mercer, 78-71, in the second round of the Midwest Regional.

"I never thought this was going to happen," Duke star freshman Jabari Parker said.

Mercer, an 8,300-student school from Macon, Ga., delivered the biggest shocker in an already topsy-turvy tournament, knocking off the third-seeded Blue Devils in Duke's backyard.

Mercer scored 11 straight points during a late 20-5 run that clinched the biggest victory in school history. "This," Atlantic Sun player of the year Langston Hall said, "is what March Madness is all about."

The Bears (27-8), with a starting lineup of five seniors, came back from five points down in the last 4:52 as Duke's offense collapsed. They sent home one of the true blue-blood programs, coached by Hall of Famer Krzyzewski and starring Parker, sure to be one of the top NBA draft picks this year.

Mercer is coached by former Oklahoma Baptist player Bob Hoffman, who has banged around the coaching ranks from women's teams to the American Basketball Association to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Developmental League.

Jakob Gollon scored 20 points and Daniel Coursey added 17 for the Bears, who overcame a season-high 15 three-pointers from the Blue Devils.

Quinn Cook scored 23 points and Rasheed Sulaimon added 20 for Duke (26-9). But the Blue Devils' defense -- an uncharacteristic weakness all season -- did them in again while all those Mercer seniors simply got any shot they wanted. The Bears shot 56 percent overall and 58 percent in the second half.

"They're a team that's been together a long time," Duke forward Rodney Hood said. "They sliced us up. There's no other way to put it."