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Box Score
GREENSBORO, N.C. –At 15:19 in the first half, No. 16 seed Southern University did the one thing no one in America thought they could accomplish. The Jaguars, tied with the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils at eight apiece, survived until the first TV timeout.
Breathe a quick sigh of relief, Jaguars. Now, show the country and the 22,642 in attendance what Southern basketball is all about.
For the remaining 34:41, Southern (19-13) put a scare into the Blue Devils (31-3) in an eye-opening 70-54 loss that had Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski singing the Jaguar’s praises.
“In order for somebody to look bad, somebody usually makes them look bad,” Krzyzewski said. Obviously, (Southern) played really well. They have a good system, they came to play, they looked like they were having fun, they were together, and they never let up.”
Facing a nine-point deficit after halftime, Southern looked to its pressure defense and forced Duke into four turnovers on the Blue Devils first five possessions. During a span of 2:12, Peter Cipriano scored on two mid-range jumpers and Chris Alexander added two points to close the gap at 40-36.
After the Jaguars forced Duke guard Greg Paulus into committing his fourth turnover in the second half, DeForrest Riley-Smith pulled the Jaguars within in three points, connecting on 1-of-2 free throws. Southern dreams of becoming the first 16 seed to upset a No. 1 seed begin to fade shortly there after.
Southern head coach Rob Spivery still reveled in the effort his team put forth.
“I am very proud of the way our guys really battled,” said Spivery, who lost to the Blue Devils while at Alabama State in the form of a 96-61 first round beating in 2004. “The second half we just did not generate enough points to keep the game close to give ourselves a chance in the closing moments.
“A little bit more offensive put-out by us and it could have been a different story.”
Alexander and Cipriano, playing in their final game in Southern columbia blue and gold, scored 19 and 10 respectively. Alexander went 8-for-19 from the field, while Cipriano added 10 rebounds with two blocks. Riley-Smith dropped in 13 points on a 4-for-12 shooting night.
“It’s been up and down, but it’s not how you start but how you finish and I think I finished great winning a SWAC championship,” said Cipriano reflecting on his time at Southern. “To face the No. 1 team in the country and just to give them a scare, the feeling is unbelievable.
Duke responded to Southern’s run, sprinting out to a 56-41 lead that watched the Jaguars struggle to score one field goal over a span of 7:16. Duke’s All-American guard J.J. Redick drilled two 3-pointers and added a jumper during the run while Sheldon Williams scored four points. For Duke, it was all Redick and Williams, with the senior co-captains scoring 29 apiece and accounting for 84 percent of the Blue Devils.
“J.J. Redick and Sheldon Williams carried the load for Duke and we knew they would,” said Spivery. “For the most part, I think our defense was pretty good. We held them to 70 points.”
As the games final moments ticked away, Cipriano, a Jersey City, N.J. native whose face has become a staple of Southern basketball, applauded openly as the two teams headed toward their bench to exchange post-game congratulations. For Cipriano, that moment, that gesture, was more to honor the Jaguars effort despite facing improbable odds.
“I know ESPN and everybody was running around thinking that we were going to lose by 50,” said Cipriano. “And for us to go in and give Duke a scare, let’s them know that we were not going to be a push over tonight. That we were going to play this game as hard as possible.”
Highlights: Southern’s Human Jukebox continued it storied tradition as show-stoppers capturing the praise and attention of the 22,000 plus at the Greensboro Coliseum. Playing a vast selection of old school and new school selection, the band got involved in the action and kept the fans, mainly comprised of fans from George Washington, UNC-Wilmington, and Wichita State that complemented the strong Duke contingent. The highlight of the day came when the band played D4L’s “Shake your Laffy Taffy,” and Duke’s Blue Devil mascot proceeded to, well, shake his laffy taffy.
Lowlights: After battling the No. 1 team in the nation for most of the night, the Jaguars offense hit the wall. Following Chris Alexander’s free throw made the score 45-38, the Jaguars went 4:41 without a basket before DeForrest Riley-Smith nailed the first of back-to-back 3-pointers at the 9:24 mark. In the meantime, Duke went on an 8-0 run led by J.J. Redick’s five points. In the second half alone, Southern shot 8-of-30 from the field for 26 percent. Ouch.
