It got a little longer Friday night.
Lehigh pulled off a monumental upset of national power Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 75-70, at the Greensboro Coliseum.
C.J. McCollum scored 30 points and the Mountain Hawks converted their last six free throws to become the sixth No. 15 seed to win against a No. 2 seed, and the second in a three-hour span.
"Well, I want to congratulate Lehigh," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They had the best player on the court tonight in McCollum.
"They were very bold the entire game. They were bold throughout and bold won."
Lehigh (27-7) plays the Notre Dame/Xavier winner Sunday in the round of 32. Duke's season ends at 27-7.
Lehigh led for the majority of the game and fought off several Duke runs, the last a 7-0 spurt to take a 49-47 lead with 8 minutes, 36 seconds left.
Mackey McKnight's 3-pointer from the right wing gave the Mountain Hawks the lead for good 16 seconds later.
And despite a few shaky moments in the closing moments, the Hawks made enough free throws to win their first NCAA Tournament game in five tries.
"Lehigh is a really good team and McCollum is a heck of a player," Krzyzewski added. "He's one of the best players in the country.
"But all of their kids played well."
Gabe Knutson's dunk with 47 seconds left gave Lehigh a 67-59 cushion, but a couple of missed free throws and Austin Rivers' two free throws had Duke down just three with 28 seconds left.
Lehigh, as it had all night, regrouped from adverse moments with the poise of champions.
Jordan Hamilton's dunk off a three-quarter pass from McCollum pushed the lead to five and Knutson rebounded a Duke miss, was fouled and made two free throws to restore a seven-point cushion.
Quinn Cook's trey with one second left ensured Lehigh had to get the ball inbounds one more time against Duke's frantic pressure.
The Hawks did and McCollum was fouled. McCollum, who missed two freebies with 36 seconds left, made both this time to secure the third win by a Patriot League team in the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell won in 2005 and '06.
"Though not in games in the tournament, we've played in some tough environments and we've always just played off the crowd," senior Hamilton said, referring to games earlier this season at Iowa State and Michigan State.
"We appreciate the North Carolina fans supporting us."
By the second half, fans from North Carolina who returned after the Tar Heels' win in the previous game, plus those from Xavier and Notre Dame who were waiting for their teams to play in the nightcap, joined the Lehigh faithful to offset the huge Duke following.
Lehigh used a 15-5 run to take at 47-42 lead with 12:08 left on a McCollum 3-pointer.
"There were numerous defensive strategies against (McCollum)," Krzyzewski said. "We wanted him to be a volume shooter but not foul him.
"(But) we didn't lose the game because of our defense."
Duke, which played without injured forward Ryan Kelly, responded with a 7-0 run. But its offense never sustained anything.
Star guards Austin Rivers and Seth Curry combined to make just six of 23 shots. Rivers managed 19 points. Curry, who was saddled with foul problems throughout, was just 1 of 9 with seven points.
Lehigh led 56-51 as late as the 4:06 mark, but missed two free throws and two 3-pointers that would have extended its lead.
But the Mountain Hawks' defense, which forced 41.4 percent shooting, kept the Blue Devils from putting together a game-changing run.
Lehigh was up 61-54 after a John Adams dunk with 1:51 left. Curry then hit a front-rim 3-pointer to cut the lead to four with 1:33 left.
With the pressure of the game, the moment and Duke's history staring at them, the Mountain Hawks made enough plays late.
"We weren't perfect," Lehigh coach Brett Reed said. "But we played well enough."
Knutson had 15 of his 17 points and all eight rebounds in the second half for the Hawks, who have won nine games in a row.by tom housenick
For Duke, Mason Plumlee had 19 points, including several monster dunks on 9 of 9 shooting.
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