Duke survives Siena's potential 16-1 upset with second-half surge

Field Level Media|published: Thu 19th March, 17:33 2026

Siena Saints guard Gavin Doty (4) is defended by Duke Blue Devils guard Nikolas Khamenia (14) Thursday, March 19, 2026, during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first round game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help No. 1 overall seed Duke rally for a 71-65 victory over No. 16 Siena in a first-round East Region matchup on Thursday.

Boozer went 13-for-14 from the free-throw line for Duke (33-2), which trailed by as many as 13 points before escaping. Twin brother Cayden Boozer added a season-high 19 points and Isaiah Evans had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who advance to face No. 9 TCU on Saturday.

Siena (23-12) was the first NCAA Tournament team since DePaul in 1979 to play its starters the entire game. The Saints nearly became the third No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 in tourney history, following UMBC (2018) and Fairleigh Dickinson (2023).

Gavin Doty's 21 points led the Saints, followed by Francis Folefac's 18 and Brendan Coyle's 12.

Ahead 47-34, Siena had an opportunity to take an even larger lead, but Riley Mulvey and Folefac missed dunks on the same possession, leading to Evans' fastbreak slam with 17:10 remaining. The dunk began an 11-0 run, stamped with Dame Sarr's flush to cut the deficit to two.

Coyle hit a pair of triples to give Siena a six-point cushion, before Cameron Boozer's layup and Evans' trey narrowed the gap to a point.

Evans' driving layup at the 4:25 mark gave Duke a 63-61 lead -- the Blue Devils' first since the first five minutes of the game. Cayden Boozer hit a contested layup to extend the lead to six with 1:36 remaining.

Mulvey's putback at the 1:06 mark snapped a 6:47 scoring drought for the Saints, cutting the margin to four. But Evans and Cameron Boozer made two free throws apiece down the stretch to seal the win.

Duke held an early 10-6 lead, but Folefac scored four straight points and Justice Shoats made a layup to give Siena a 12-10 advantage and ignite the crowd.

Coyle knocked down consecutive triples to give the Saints a 22-16 lead, forcing a Duke timeout with 11:29 left in the first half. Folefac added a pair of layups after the break, putting the Saints ahead by 10.

Maliq Brown's dunk ended an eight-plus minute stretch without a made field goal for the Blue Devils. Doty's second 3-pointer pushed the lead to 11.

Cameron Boozer pulled the Blue Devils within seven on consecutive baskets, but Doty's 16th point of the first half gave Siena a 43-32 halftime lead.

--Jack Batten, Field Level Media